Columbia  59ntt)em'tj) 

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Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


A  SOLDIER  OF  THE  LEGION 


^_  ^Yy>t?vu^. 


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A    SOLDIER    OF 
THE    LEGION 


BY 


EDWARD  MORLAE 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1916 


Jl 


LcOZ 

COPYRIGHT,    1916,    BY   THE   ATLANTIC   MONTHLY   COMPANY 
COPYRIGHT,    I916,    BV    HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN    COMPANY 


ALL    RIGHTS   RESERVED 


Published  June  iqib 


«>    «••  * 


r- 

ir 

0 

I  PREFACE 

^  When  Sergeant  Morlae  turned  up  at 
?^  the  Atlantic  office  and,  with  his  head 
cocked  on  one  side,  remarked  ingratiat- 
ingly, "I'm  told  this  is  the  highest- 
toned  office  in  the  United  States," 
there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  assure 
him  he  was  right  and  to  make  him  quite 
comfortable  while  he  told  his  wonder- 
ful story.  That  story,  however,  was 
not  told  consecutively,  but  in  chapters 
as  his  crowding  recollections  responded 
to  the  questions  of  his  interlocutor.  It 
was  a  story,  too,  which  could  not  be 
told  at  a  sitting,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  evening  of  the  second  day  that 
Sergeant  Morlae  recounted  the  exploit 
which  won  the  Croix  de  Guerre  pinned 
to  his  chest  —  a  cross  which  he  said, 


PREFACE 


with  the  sole  touch  of  personal  pride 
noticed  in  three  days  passed  largely  in 
his  company,  had  above  it  not  the  cop- 
per but  the  silver  clasp. 

Sergeant  Morlae  is  a  Dirk  Hatter- 
aick  of  a  man  to  look  at,  and  the  edu- 
cation of  that  beloved  pirate  was  no 
more  rugged  than  his  own.  His  father 
was  a  Frenchman  born  who  had  seen 
service  in  '70  and  won  a  captain's  com- 
mission in  the  "Terrible  Year."  After 
the  war,  Morlae,  senior,  settled  in  this 
country  and  his  son  was  born  in  Cali- 
fornia. As  young  Morlae  grew  up,  find- 
ing the  family  business  of  contracting 
on  a  small  scale  somewhat  circum- 
scribed, he  sought  more  hazardous  em- 
ployment in  active  service  in  the  Philip- 
pines and  in  more  than  one  civilian 
"scrap"  in  Mexico.  It  was  good  train- 
ing. August,  1 914,  found  him  again  in 


PREFACE 

Los  Angeles.  For  two  days  his  French 
blood  mounted  as  he  read  the  news- 
papers, and  on  the  mormng  of  August  3 
he  packed  his  grip  and  started  for 
Paris  to  enlist  in  the  Legion.  Since  he 
had  already  seen  service,  he  was  soon 
made  a  corporal  and  later  a  sergeant. 
Morlae,  says  a  letter  from  a  Harvard 
graduate  who  served  under  him  in 
those  days,  was  "an  excellent  soldier,'* 
*'a  strong,  efficient,  ambitious  man," 
though,  as  the  reader  of  this  and  letters 
from  other  Legionaries  may  infer,  he 
was  neither  sentimental  in  his  methods 
nor  supersensitive  with  his  men.  Main- 
taining discipline  in  so  motley  a  crew 
as  the  Legion  is  rather  a  rasping  proc- 
ess, and  Sergeant  Morlae  was  born 
disqualified  for  diplomatic  service. 
Future  reunions  of  La  Legion  are  like- 
ly to  lack  the  sweet  placidity  which 


PREFACE 


wraps  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic on  the  anniversaries  of  Chancellors- 
ville  and  Gettysburg. 

But  to  the  story.  The  things  that 
war  is  are  not  often  told  except  in 
generalization  or  in  words  of  fanciful 
rhetoric.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  else- 
where, crammed  into  a  brief  narrative, 
so  much  of  the  sense  of  actuality  — 
that  realism  made  perfect  which  even 
readers  who  have  known  no  such  ex- 
perience feel  instinctively  is  true.  Yet 
the  story  is  not  made  of  horror.  The 
essence  of  its  life  is  the  spirit  that  de- 
lights in  peril.  The  "Soldier  of  the 
Legion"  has  in  it  that  spinal  thrill 
which  has  electrified  great  tales  of 
battle  since  blood  was  first  let  and  ink 
spilled  to  celebrate  it. 

Ellery  Sedgwick. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Soldier  Frontispiece 

As   THEY    SWUNG    INTO    COLUMN    THE    NiGUT    BE- 
FORE THE  sStii  OF  September  i8 

Americans  in  the  Foreign  Legion  38 

showing  type  of  hand-grenades 

Americans  in  the  Foreign  Legion  receiving 
News  from  Home  igo 


A  SOLDIER  OF  THE  LEGION 


A   SOLDIER   OF 
THE   LEGION 

I 

One  day  during  the  latter  part  of 
August,  1 91 5,  my  regiment,  the  2™^ 
Etranger  (Foreign  Legion),  passed  in 
review  before  the  President  of  the 
French  RepubUc  and  the  conamander- 
in-chief  of  her  armies,  General  Joffre. 
On  that  day,  after  twelve  months  of 
fighting,  the  regiment  was  presented 
by  President  Poincare  with  a  battle- 
flag.  The  occasion  marked  the  admis- 
sion of  the  Legion  Etrangere  to  equal 
footing  with  the  regiments  of  the  line. 
Two  months  later  —  it  was  October 
28  —  the  remnants  of  this  regiment 
were  paraded  through  the  streets  of 
Paris,  and,  with  all  military  honors, 
3 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

this  same  battle-flag  was  taken  across 
the  Seine  to  the  Hotel  des  Invalides. 
There  it  was  decorated  with  the  cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and,  with  rev- 
erent ceremony,  was  placed  between 
the  flag  of  the  cuirassiers  who  died  at 
Reichshofen  and  the  equally  famous 
standard  which  the  Garibaldians  bore 
in  1870-71.  The  flag  lives  on.  The 
regiment  has  ceased  to  exist. 

On  the  battlefield  of  La  Champagne, 
from  Souain  to  the  Ferme  Navarin, 
from  Somme  Py  to  the  Butte  de  Sou- 
ain, the  ground  is  thickly  studded 
with  low  wooden  crosses  and  plain  pine 
boards  marked  with  the  Mohammedan 
crescent  and  star.  Beside  the  crosses 
you  see  bayonets  thrust  into  the 
ground,  and  dangling  from  their  cross- 
bars little  metal  disks  which  months 
ago  served  their  purpose  in  identify- 
4 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

ing  the  dead  and  now  mark  their 
graves.  Many  mounds  bear  no  mark 
at  all.  On  others  again  you  see  a  dozen 
helmets  laid  in  rows,  to  mark  the 
companionship  of  the  dead  below  in  a 
common  grave.  It  is  there  you  wiU 
find  the  Legion. 

Of  the  Legion  I  can  tell  you  at  first- 
hand. It  is  a  story  of  adventurers,  of 
criminals,  of  fugitives  from  justice. 
Some  of  them  are  drunkards,  some 
thieves,  and  some  with  the  mark  of 
Cain  upon  them  find  others  to  keep 
them  company.  They  are  men  I  know 
the  worst  of.  And  yet  I  am  proud  of 
them  —  proud  of  having  been  one  of 
them;  very  proud  of  having  command- 
ed some  of  them. 

It  is  all  natural  enough.  Most  men 
who  had  come  to  know  them  as  I  have 
would  feel  as  I  do.  You  must  reckon 
5 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  good  with  the  evil.  You  must  re- 
member their  comradeship,  their  esprit 
de  corps,  their  pathetic  eagerness  to 
serve  France,  the  sole  country  which 
has  offered  them  asylum,  the  country 
which  has  shown  them  confidence, 
mothered  them,  and  placed  them  on  an 
equal  footing  with  her  own  sons.  These 
things  mean  something  to  a  man  who 
has  led  the  life  of  an  outcast,  and  the 
Legionnaires  have  proved  their  loyalty 
many  times  over.  At  Arras  there  are 
more  than  four  hundred  kilometres  of 
trench-line  which  they  have  restored 
to  France.  The  Legion  has  always 
boasted  that  it  never  shows  its  back, 
and  the  Legion  has  made  good. 

In  my  own  section  there  were  men  of 

all  races  and  all  nationalities.   There 

were  Russians  and  Turks,  an  Annamite 

and  a  Hindu.  There  were  Frenchmen 

6 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

from  God  knows  where.  There  was  a 
German,  God  only  knows  why.  There 
were  Bulgars,  Serbs,  Greeks,  negroes, 
an  Itahan,  and  a  Fiji  Islander  firesh 
from  an  Oxford  education,  —  a  silent 
man  of  whom  it  was  whispered  that 
he  had  once  been  an  archbishop,  — 
three  Arabians,  and  a  handful  of  Amer- 
icans who  cared  little  for  the  quiet  life. 
As  Bur-bek-kar,  the  Arabian  bugler, 
used  to  say  in  his  bad  French,  *'Ceux 
sont  le  ra-ta  international" — "They're 
the  international  stew." 

Many  of  the  men  I  came  to  know 
well.  The  Italian,  Conti,  had  been  a 
professional  bicycle-thief  who  had 
slipped  quietly  into  the  Legion  when 
things  got  too  hot  for  him.  When  he 
was  killed  in  Champagne  he  was  serv- 
ing his  second  enlistment.  Doumergue, 
a  Frenchman  who  was  a  particularly 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

good  type  of  soldier,  had  absconded 
from  Paris  with  his  employer's  money 
and  had  found  life  in  the  Legion  neces- 
sary to  his  comfort.  A  striking  figure 
with  a  black  complexion  was  Voronoff, 
a  Russian  prince  whose  precise  antece- 
dents were  unknown  to  his  mates. 
Pala  was  a  Parisian  "Apache"  and 
looked  the  part.  Every  man  had  left  a 
past  behind  liim.  But  the  Americans 
in  the  Legion  were  of  a  different  type. 
Some  of  us  who  volunteered  for  the 
war  loved  fighting,  and  some  of  us 
loved  France.   I  was  fond  of  both. 

But  even  the  Americans  were  not  all 
of  one  stripe.  J.  J.  Casey  had  been  a 
newspaper  artist,  and  Bob  Scanlon,  a 
burly  negro,  an  artist  with  his  fist  in 
the  squared  ring.  Alan  Seeger  had 
something  of  the  poet  in  him.  Dennis 
Dowd  was  a  lawyer ;  Edwin  Bouligny  a 
8 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

lovable  adventurer.  There  was  D.  W. 
King,  the  sprig  of  a  well-known  fam- 
ily. William  Thaw,  of  Pittsburg,  start- 
ed with  us,  though  he  joined  the  Flying 
Corps  later  on.  Then  there  were  James 
Bach,  of  New  York;  B.  S.  HaU,  who 
hailed  from  Kentucky;  Professor  Oh- 
linger,  of  Columbia ;  Phehzot,  who  had 
shot  enough  big  game  in  Africa  to  feed 
the  regiment.  There  were  Delpeuch, 
and  Capdeveille,  and  little  Tinkard, 
from  New  York.  Bob  Soubiron  came, 
I  imagine,  from  the  United  States  in 
general,  for  he  had  been  a  professional 
automobile  racer.  The  Rockwell  broth- 
ers, journalists,  signed  on  from  Geor- 
gia; and  last,  though  far  from  least, 
was  Friedrich  Wilhelm  Zinn,  from 
Battle  Creek,  Michigan. 

The  rest  of  the  section  were  old-time 
Legionnaires,  most  of  them   serving 

0 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

their  second  enlistment  of  five  years, 
and  some  their  third.  All  these  were 
seasoned  soldiers,  veterans  of  many 
battles  in  Algiers  and  Morocco.  My 
section  —  complete  —  nmnbered  sixty. 
Twelve  of  us  sm-vive,  and  of  these 
there  are  several  still  in  the  hospital 
recovering  from  wounds.  Zinn  and 
Tinkard  lie  there  with  bullets  in  their 
breasts;  Dowd,  with  his  right  arm 
nearly  severed;  Soubiron,  shot  in  the 
leg;  Bouhgny,  with  a  ball  in  his  stom- 
ach. But  Bouligny,  like  many  another, 
is  an  old  hand  in  the  hospital.  He  has 
been  there  twice  before  with  metal  to 
be  cut  out.  Several  others  lie  totally 
incapacitated  from  wounds,  and  more 
than  half  of  the  section  rests  quietly 
along  the  route  of  the  regiment.  Seven 
of  them  are  buried  at  Craonne;  two 
more  at  Ferme  Alger,  near  Rheims. 

10 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

Eighteen  of  them  I  saw  buried  myself 
in  Champagne. 

That  is  the  record  of  the  first  section 
of  Company  I.  Section  III,  on  the 
night  of  the  first  day's  fighting  in 
Champagne,  mustered  eight  men  out 
of  the  forty-two  who  had  fallen  into 
line  that  morning.  Section  IV  lost 
that  day  more  than  half  of  its  effec- 
tives. Section  II  lost  seventeen  out  of 
thirty-eight.  War  did  its  work  thor- 
oughly with  the  Legion.  We  had  the 
place  of  honor  in  the  attack,  and  we 
paid  for  it. 


II 

Two  days  before  the  forward  move- 
ment began,  we  were  informed  by  our 
captain  of  the  day  and  hour  set  for  the 
attack.  We  were  told  the  exact  num- 
ber of  field-pieces  and  heavy  guns 
which  would  support  us  and  the  num- 
ber of  shells  to  be  fired  by  each  piece. 
Our  artillery  had  orders  to  place  four 
shells  per  metre  per  minute  along  the 
length  of  the  German  lines.  Our  cap- 
tain gave  us  also  very  exact  informa- 
tion regarding  the  number  of  German 
batteries  opposed  to  us.  He  even  told 
us  the  regimental  numbers  of  the 
Prussian  and  Saxon  regiments  which 
were  opposite  our  line.  From  him  we 
learned  also  that  along  the  whole 
length  of  our  first  row  of  trenches  steps 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

had  been  cut  into  the  front  bank  in 
order  to  enable  us  to  mount  it  without 
delay,  and  that  our  own  barbed-wire 
entanglements,  wliich  were  immedi- 
ately in  front  of  this  trench,  had  been 
pierced  by  lanes  cut  tlirough  every  two 
metres,  so  that  we  might  advance 
without  the  slightest  hindrance. 

On  the  night  of  September  28,  the 
commissioned  officers,  including  the 
colonel  of  the  regiment,  entered  the 
front  lines  of  trenches,  and  with  stakes 
marked  the  front  to  be  occupied  by  our 
regiment  during  the  attack.  It  was 
like  an  arrangement  for  a  race.  Start- 
ing from  the  road  leading  from  Souain 
to  Vouziers,  the  officers,  after  marking 
the  spot  with  a  big  stake,  paced  fifteen 
hundred  metres  to  the  eastward  and 
there  marked  the  extreme  right  of  the 
regiment's  position  by  a  second  stake. 
13 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

Midway  between  these  two  a  third 
was  placed.  From  the  road  to  the 
stake,  the  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
metres  marked  the  terrain  for  Bat- 
taHon  C.  The  other  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  metres  bearing  to  the  left 
were  assigned  to  BattaHon  D.  Just 
one  hundred  metres  behind  these  two 
battahons  a  line  was  designated  for 
Battalion  E,  which  was  to  move  up  in 
support. 

My  own  company  formed  the  front 
line  of  the  extreme  left  flank  of  the 
regiment.  Our  left  was  to  rest  on  the 
highroad  and  our  front  was  to  run  from 
that  to  a  stake  marking  a  precise  front- 
age of  two  hundred  metres.  From 
these  stakes,  which  marked  the  ends 
of  our  line,  we  were  ordered  to  take  a 
course  due  north,  sighting  our  direc- 
tion by  trees  and  natural  objects  sev- 
i4 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

eral  kilometres  in  the  rear  of  the  Ger- 
man hnes.  These  were  to  serve  us  for 
guides  during  the  advance.  After  all 
these  matters  had  been  explained  to  us 
at  length,  other  details  were  taken  up 
with  the  engineers,  who  were  shown 
piles  of  bridging,  ready  made  in  sec- 
tions of  planking  so  that  they  might 
be  readily  placed  over  the  German 
trenches  and  thus  permit  our  guns  and 
supply-wagons  to  cross  quickly  in  the 
wake  of  our  advance. 

The  detail  was  infinite,  but  every- 
thing was  foreseen.  Twelve  men  from 
each  company  were  furnished  with 
long  knives  and  grenades.  Upon  these 
"trench-cleaners,"  as  we  called  them, 
fell  the  task  of  entering  the  German 
trenches  and  caves  and  bomb-proofs, 
and  disposing  of  such  of  the  enemy  as 
were  still  hidden  therein  after  we  had 

i5 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

stormed  the  trench  and  passed  on  to 
the  other  side.  All  extra  shoes,  all 
clothing  and  blankets  were  turned  in 
to  the  quartermaster,  and  each  man 
was  provided  with  a  second  cauiteen  of 
water,  two  days  of  "iron  rations,"  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty  rounds  addi- 
tional, making  two  hundred  and  fifty 
cartridges  per  man.  The  gas-masks 
and  mouth-pads  were  ready;  emer- 
gency dressings  were  inspected,  and 
each  man  ordered  to  put  on  clean  un- 
derwear and  shirts  to  prevent  possible 
infection  of  the  wounds. 

One  hour  before  the  time  set  for  the 
advance,  we  passed  the  final  inspec- 
tion and  deposited  our  last  letters  with 
the  regimental  postmaster.  Those  let- 
ters meant  a  good  deal  to  all  of  us  and 
they  were  in  our  minds  during  the  long 
wait  that  followed.  One  man  suddenly 

i6 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

began  to  intone  the  "Marseillaise." 
Soon  every  man  joined  in  singing.  It 
was  a  very  Anthem  of  Victory.  We 
were  ready,  eager,  and  confident:  for 
us  to-morrow  held  but  one  chance  — 
Victory.  ^ 


Ill 

Slowly  the  column  swung  out  of 
camp,  and  slowly  and  silently,  without 
a  spoken  word  of  command,  it  changed 
its  direction  to  the  right  and  straight- 
ened out  its  length  upon  the  road  lead- 
ing to  the  trenches.  It  was  lo  p.m.  pre- 
cisely by  my  watch.  The  night  was 
quite  clear,  and  we  could  see,  to  right 
and  to  left,  moving  columns  march- 
ing parallel  to  ours.  One,  though  there 
was  not  quite  light  enough  to  tell 
which,  was  our  sister  regiment,  the  i^' 
Regiment  Etranger.  The  other,  as  I 
knew,  was  the  8™^  Zouaves.  The  three 
columns  marched  at  the  same  gait.  It 
was  hke  a  funeral  march,  slow  and  very 
quiet.  There  was  no  singing  and  shout- 
ing; none  of  the  usual  badinage.  Even 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  officers  were  silent.  They  were  all 
on  foot,  marching  like  the  rest  of  us. 
We  knew  there  would  be  no  use  for 
horses  to-morrow. 

To-morrow  was  the  day  fixed  for 
the  grand  attack.  There  was  not  a  man 
in  the  ranks  who  did  not  know  that 
to-morrow,  at  g.iB,  was  the  time  set. 
Every  man,  I  suppose,  wondered 
whether  he  would  do  or  whether  he 
would  die.  I  wondered  myself. 

I  did  not  really  think  I  should  die. 
Yet  I  had  arranged  my  earthly  affairs. 
"One  can  never  tell,"  as  the  French 
soldier  says  with  a  shrug.  I  had  writ- 
ten to  my  friends  at  home.  I  had 
named  the  men  in  my  company  to 
whom  I  wished  to  leave  my  personal 
belongings.  Sergeant  Velte  was  to 
have  my  Parabellum  pistol ;  Casey  my 
prismatics;  Bircliler  my  money-belt 
19 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and  its  contents;  while  Sergeant  Jovert 
was  booked  for  my  watch  and  com- 
pass. Yet,  in  the  back  of  my  mind,  I 
smiled  at  my  own  forethought.  I  knew 
that  I  should  come  out  alive.  I  re- 
called to  myself  the  numerous  times 
that  I  had  been  in  imminent  peril:  in 
the  Philippines,  in  Mexico,  and  during 
the  thirteen  months  of  this  war.  I 
could  remember  time  and  again  when 
men  were  killed  on  each  side  of 
me  and  I  escaped  unscratched.  Take 
the  affair  of  Papoin,  Joly,  and  Bob 
Scanlon.  We  were  standing  together 
so  near  that  we  could  have  clasped 
hands.  Papoin  was  killed,  Joly  was 
severely  wounded,  and  Scanlon  was  hit 
in  the  ankle  —  all  by  the  same  shell. 
The  fragments  which  killed  and 
wounded  the  first  two  passed  on  one 
side  of  me,  while  the  piece  of  iron  that 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

hit  Bob  went  close  by  my  other  side. 
Yet  I  was  untouched  1  Again,  take  the 
last  patrol.  When  I  was  out  of  cover, 
the  Germans  shot  at  me  from  a  range 
of  ten  metres  —  and  missed  I  I  felt 
certain  that  my  day  was  not  to-mor- 
row. 

Just  the  same,  I  was  glad  that  my 
affairs  were  arranged,  and  it  gave  me 
a  sense  of  conscious  satisfaction  to 
think  that  my  comrades  would  have 
something  to  remember  me  by.  There 
is  always  the  chance  of  something  un- 
foreseen happening. 

The  pace  was  accelerating.  The 
strain  was  beginning  to  wear  off.  From 
right  and  left  there  came  a  steady 
murmur  of  low  talk.  In  our  own  col- 
umn men  were  beginning  to  chaff  each 
other.  I  could  distinctly  hear  Soubi- 
ron  describing  in  picturesque  detail  to 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

Capdeveille  how  he,  Capdeveille,  would 
look,  gracefully  draped  over  the  Ger- 
man barbed  wire;  and  I  could  hear 
Capdeveille's  heated  response  that  he 
would  Uve  long  enough  to  spit  upon 
Soubiron's  grave;  and  I  smiled  to  my- 
self. The  moment  of  depression  and 
self-communication  had  passed.  The 
men  had  found  themselves  and  were 
beginning  their  usual  chaffing.  And 
yet,  in  all  their  chatter  there  seemed  to 
be  an  unusually  sharp  note.  The  jokes 
all  had  an  edge  to  them.  References 
to  one  another's  death  were  common, 
and  good  wishes  for  one  another's  par- 
tial dismemberment  excited  only  laugh- 
ter. Just  beliind  me  I  heard  King  ex- 
press the  hope  that  if  he  lost  an  arm  or 
a  leg  he  would  at  least  get  the  medaille 
militaire  in  exchange.  By  way  of  com- 
fort, his  chum,  Dowd,  remarked  that, 

32 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

whether  he  got  the  medal  or  not,  he 
was  very  sure  of  getting  a  permit  to 
beg  on  the  street-corners. 

From  personal  bickerings  we  passed 
on  to  a  discussion  of  the  Germans  and 
German  methods  of  making  war.  We 
talked  on  the  finer  points  of  hand-gre- 
nades, poison  gas,  flame-projectors, 
vitriol  bombs,  and  explosive  bullets. 
Everybody  seemed  to  take  particular 
pleasure  in  describing  the  horrible 
wounds  caused  by  the  different  weap- 
ons. Each  man  embroidered  upon  the 
tales  the  others  told. 

We  were  marching  into  hell.  If  you 
judged  them  by  their  conversation, 
these  men  must  have  been  brutes  at 
heart,  worse  than  any  "Apache";  and 
yet  of  those  around  me  several  were 
university  graduates;  one  was  a  law- 
yer; two  were  clerks;  one  a  poet  of 

a3 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

standing;  one  an  actor;  and  there  were 
several  men  of  leisure,  Americans  al- 
most all  of  them. 

The  talk  finally  settled  upon  the 
Germans.  Many  and  ingenious  were 
the  forms  of  torture  invented  upon  the 
spur  of  the  moment  for  the  benefit  of 
the  "Boches."  "Hanging  is  too  good 
for  them,"  said  Scanlon.  After  a  long 
discussion,  scalping  ahve  seemed  the 
most  satisfactory  to  the  crowd. 

It  had  come  to  be  1 1  p.m.  We  were  at 
the  mouth  of  the  communicating  trench 
and  entering  it,  one  by  one.  Every 
.so  often,  short  transverse  trenches 
opened  up  to  right  and  left,  each  one 
crammed  full  of  soldiers.  Talking 
and  laughing  stopped.  We  continued 
marching  along  the  trench,  kilometre 
after  kilometre,  in  utter  silence.  As  we 
moved  forward,  the  lateral  trenches 

24 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

became  more  numerous.  Every  fifteeD 
to  eighteen  feet  we  came  to  one  run- 
ning from  right  to  left,  and  each  was 
filled  with  troops,  their  arms  grounded. 
As  we  filed  slowly  by,  they  looked  at 
us  enviously.  It  was  amusing  to  see 
how  curious  they  looked,  and  to  watch 
their  whispering  as  we  passed.  Why 
should  we  precede  them  in  attack? 

"Who  are  you?"  several  men  asked. 

"La  Legion." 

"A-a-ah,  la  Legion!  That  explains 
it." 

Our  right  to  the  front  rank  seemed 
to  be  acknowledged.  It  did  every  man 
of  us  good. 

We  debouched  from  the  trench  into 
the  street  of  a  village.  It  was  Souain. 
Houses,  or  ghosts  of  houses,  walled  us 
in  on  each  side.  Through  the  windows 
and  the  irregular  shell-holes  in  the 

25 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

walls,  the  stars  twinkled ;  while  through 
a  huge  gap  in  the  upper  story  of  one  of 
the  houses  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
moon,  over  my  right  shoulder.  Lucky 
omen!  "I'll  come  through  all  right," 
I  repeated  to  myself,  and  rapped  with 
my  knuckle  upon  the  rifle-stock,  lest 
the  luck  break. 

Not  one  house  in  the  village  was  left 
standing  —  only  bare  walls.  Near  the 
end  of  the  street,  in  the  midst  of  chaos, 
we  passed  a  windmill.  The  gaunt  steel 
frame  still  stood.  I  could  see  the  black 
rents  in  the  mill  and  the  great  arms 
where  the  shrapnel  had  done  its  work; 
but  still  the  wheel  turned,  slowly, 
creaking  round  and  round,  with  its 
shrill  metal  scream. 

The  column  turned  to  the  left  and 

again  disappeared  in  a  trench.  After  a 

short  distance  we  turned  to  the  right, 
26 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

then  once  more  to  the  left,  then  on, 
and  finally,  not  unwillingly,  we  came 
to  a  rest.  We  did  not  have  to  be  told 
that  we  were  now  in  the  front  fine,  for 
through  the  rifle-ports  we  could  see  the 
French  shells  bursting  ahead  of  us  like 
Fourth-of-July  rockets. 

The  artillery  had  the  range  per- 
fectly, and  the  shells,  little  and  big, 
plumped  with  pleasing  regularity  into 
the  German  trenches.  The  din  was 
indescribable  —  almost  intolerable. 
Forty,  even  fifty,  shells  per  minute 
were  falling  into  a  space  about  a  sin- 
gle kilometre  square.  The  explosions 
sounded  almost  continuous,  and  the 
return  fire  of  the  Germans  seemed  al- 
most continuous.  Only  the  great  ten- 
inch  long-range  Teuton  guns  continued 
to  respond  effectively. 

We  looked  at  the  show  for  a  while, 
27 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and  then  lay  down  in  the  trench. 
Every  man  used  his  knapsack  for  a 
pillow  and  tried  to  snatch  a  few  hours' 
sleep.  It  was  not  a  particularly  good 
place  for  a  nervous  sleeper,  but  we 
were  healthy  and  pretty  tired. 

The  next  morning,  at  8  a.m.,  hot  cof- 
fee was  passed  round,  and  we  break- 
fasted on  sardines,  cheese,  and  bread, 
with  the  coffee  to  wash  it  down.  At  9 
the  command  passed  down  the  Une, 
"Every  man  ready  I"  Up  went  the 
knapsack  on  every  man's  back,  and, 
rifle  in  hand,  we  filed  along  the  trench. 

The  cannonading  seemed  to  increase 
in  intensity.  From  the  low  places  in 
the  parapet  we  caught  glimpses  of 
barbed  wire  which  would  glisten  in  oc- 
casional flashes  of  fight.  Our  own  we 
could  plainly  see,  and  a  fittle  farther 
beyond  was  the  German  wire. 
28 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

Suddenly,  at  the  sound  of  a  whistle, 
we  halted.  The  command,  "  Baion- 
nette  au  canon!"  passed  down  the  sec- 
tion. A  drawn-out  rattle  followed,  and 
the  bayonets  were  fixed.  Then  the 
whistle  sounded  again.  This  time 
twice.  We  adjusted  our  straps.  Each 
man  took  a  look  at  his  neighbor's 
equipment.  I  turned  and  shook  hands 
with  the  fellows  next  to  me.  They 
were  grinning,  and  I  felt  my  own 
nerves  a-quiver  as  we  waited  for  the 
signal. 

Waiting  seemed  an  eternity.  As  we 
stood  there  a  shell  burst  close  to  our 
left.  A  moment  later  it  was  whispered 
along  the  line  that  an  adjutant  and  five 
men  had  gone  down. 

What  were  we  waiting  for?  I 
glanced  at  my  watch.  It  was  g.iB  ex- 
actly. The  Germans  evidently  had  the 
29 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

range.  Two  more  shells  burst  close  to 
the  same  place.  We  inquired  curiously 
who  was  hit  this  time.  Our  response 
was  two  whistles.  That  was  our  signal. 
I  felt  my  jaws  clenching,  and  the  man 
next  to  me  looked  white.  It  was  only 
for  a  second.  Then  every  one  of  us 
rushed  at  the  trench  wall,  each  and 
every  man  strugghng  to  be  the  first  out 
of  the  trench.  In  a  moment  we  had 
clambered  up  and  out.  We  slid  over 
the  parapet,  wormed  our  way  through 
gaps  in  the  wire,  formed  in  line,  and, 
at  the  command,  moved  forward  at 
march-step  straight  toward  the  Ger- 
man wire. 

The  world  became  a  roaring  hell. 
Shell  after  shell  burst  near  us,  some- 
times right  among  us;  and,  as  we 
moved  forward  at  the  double-quick, 
men  fell  right  and  left.  We  could  hear 

3o' 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  subdued  rattling  of  the  mitrail- 
leuses and  the  roar  of  volley  fire,  but, 
above  it  all,  I  could  hear  with  almost 
startling  distinctness  the  words  of  the 
captain,  shouting  in  his  clear,  high 
voice,  "  En  avant!  Vive  la  France  I " 


IV 

As  we  marched  forward  toward  our 
goal,  huge  geysers  of  dust  spouted  into 
the  air,  rising  behind  our  backs  from 
the  rows  of  "75's"  supporting  us.  In 
front  the  fire-curtain  outhned  the  whole 
length  of  the  enemy's  line  with  a  neat- 
ness and  accuracy  that  struck  me  with 
wonder,  as  the  flames  burst  through 
the  pall  of  smoke  and  dust  around  us. 
Above,  all  was  blackness,  but  at  its 
lower  edge  the  curtain  was  fringed  with 
red  and  green  flames,  marking  the  ex- 
plosion of  the  shells  directly  over  the 
ditch  and  parapet  in  front  of  us.  The 
low-flying  clouds  mingled  with  the 
smoke-curtain,  so  that  the  whole 
brightness  of  the  day  was  obscured. 
Out  of  the  blackness  feU  a  trickling  rain 

32 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

of  pieces  of  metal,  lumps  of  earth, 
knapsacks,  rifles,  cartridges,  and  frag- 
ments of  hmnan  flesh.  We  went  on 
steadily,  nearer  and  nearer.  Now  we 
seemed  very  close  to  the  waU  of  sheUs 
streaming  from  our  own  guns,  curving 
just  above  us,  and  dropping  into  the 
trenches  in  front.  The  effect  was  ter- 
rific. I  almost  braced  myself  against 
the  rocking  of  the  earth,  like  a  sailor's 
instinctive  gait  in  stormy  weather. 

In  a  single  spot  immediately  in  front 
of  us,  not  over  ten  metres  in  length,  I 
counted  twelve  shells  bursting  so  fast 
that  I  could  not  count  them  without 
missing  other  explosions.  The  scene 
was  horrible  and  terrifying.  Across  the 
wall  of  our  own  fire  poured  shell  after 
shell  from  the  enemy,  tearing  through 
our  ranks.  From  overhead  the  slirap- 
nel  seemed  to  come  down  in  sheets,  and 

33 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

from  behind  the  stinking,  bhnding  cur- 
tain came  volleys  of  steel-jacketed  bul- 
lets, their  whine  unheard  and  their  ef- 
fect almost  unnoticed. 

I  think  we  moved  forward  simply 
from  habit.  With  me  it  was  Hke  a 
dream  as  we  went  on,  ever  on.  Here 
and  there  men  dropped,  the  ranks  clos- 
ing automatically.  Of  a  sudden  our 
own  fire-curtain  lifted.  In  a  moment  it 
had  ceased  to  bar  our  way  and  jumped 
like  a  living  thing  to  the  next  line  of 
the  enemy.  We  could  see  the  trenches 
in  front  of  us  now,  quite  clear  of  fire, 
but  flattened  almost  beyond  recogni- 
tion. The  defenders  were  either  killed 
or  demorahzed.  Calmly,  almost  stu- 
pidly, we  parried  or  thrust  with  the 
bayonet  at  those  who  barred  our  way. 
Without  a  backward  glance  we  leaped 
the  ditch  and  went  on  straight  forward 
34 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

toward  the  next  trench,  marked  in 
glowing  outhne  by  our  fire.  I  remem- 
ber now  how  the  men  looked.  Their 
eyes  had  a  wild,  unseeing  look  in  them. 
Everybody  was  gazing  ahead,  trying 
to  pierce  the  awful  curtain  which  cut 
us  off  from  all  sight  of  the  enemy.  Al- 
ways the  black  pall  smoking  and  burn- 
ing appeared  ahead  —  just  ahead  of  us 
—  hiding  everything  we  wanted  to  see. 
The  drama  was  played  again  and 
again.  Each  time,  as  we  approached  so 
close  that  fragments  of  our  own  shells 
occasionally  struck  a  leading  file,  the 
curtain  lifted  as  by  magic,  jumped 
the  intervening  metres,  and  descended 
upon  the  enemy's  trench  farther  on. 
The  ranges  were  perfect.  We  followed 
blindly  —  sometimes  at  a  walk,  some- 
times at  a  dog-trot,  and,  when  close  to 
our  goal,  on  the  dead  run.  You  could 

35 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

not  hear  a  word  in  that  pandemonium. 
All  commands  were  given  by  example 
or  by  gesture.  When  our  captain  lay 
down,  we  knew  our  orders  were  to  he 
down  too.  When  he  waved  to  the  right, 
to  the  right  we  swerved ;  if  to  the  left, 
we  turned  to  the  left.  A  sweeping  ges- 
ture, with  an  arm  extended,  first  up, 
then  down  meant, "Halt!  Lie  down!" 
From  down  up,  it  meant,  "Risel" 
When  his  hand  was  thrust  swiftly  for- 
ward, we  knew  he  was  shouting,  "  En 
avant!"  and  when  he  waved  his  hand 
in  a  circle  above  his  head,  we  broke 
into  the  double-quick. 

Three  times  on  our  way  to  the  sec- 
ond trench,  the  captain  dropped  and 
we  after  him.  Then  three  short,  quick 
rushes  by  the  companies  and  a  final 
dash  as  the  curtain  of  shells  hfted  and 
dropped  farther  away.  Then  a  hand-to- 

36 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

hand  struggle,  short  and  very  bloody, 
some  using  their  bayonets,  others 
clubbing  their  rifles  and  grenades.  A 
minute  or  two,  and  the  trench  was 
ours.  The  earthen  fortress,  so  strong 
that  the  Germans  had  boasted  that  it 
could  be  held  by  a  janitor  and  two 
washerwomen,  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Legion. 

As  we  swept  on,  the  trench-cleaners 
entered  the  trench  behind  and  began 
setting  things  to  rights.  Far  down, 
six  to  eight  metres  below  the  surface, 
they  found  an  underground  city.  Long 
tunnels,  with  chambers  opening  to 
right  and  left;  bedrooms,  furnished 
with  bedsteads,  washstands,  tables, 
and  chairs ;  elaborate  mess-rooms,  some 
fitted  with  pianos  and  phonographs. 
There  were  kitchens,  too,  and  even 
bathrooms.  So  complex  was  the  laby- 

37 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

rinth  that  three  days  after  the  attack 
Germans  were  found  stowed  away  in 
the  lateral  galleries.  The  passages  were 
choked  with  dead.  Hundreds  of  Ger- 
mans who  had  survived  the  bombard- 
ment were  torn  to  pieces  deep  beneath 
the  ground  by  French  hand-grenades, 
and  buried  where  they  lay.  In  rifles, 
munitions,  and  equipment  the  booty 
was  immense. 

We  left  the  subterranean  combat 
raging  underneath  us  and  continued 
on.  As  we  passed  over  the  main  trench, 
we  were  enfiladed  by  cannon  placed  in 
armored  turrets  at  the  end  of  each  sec- 
tion of  trench.  The  danger  was  formid- 
able, but  it,  too,  had  been  foreseen.  In 
a  few  moments  these  guns  were  si- 
lenced by  hand-grenades  shoved  point- 
blank  through  the  gun-ports.  Just 
then,  I  remember,  I  looked  back  and 

38 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

saw  Pala  down  on  his  hands  and  knees. 
I  turned  and  ran  over  to  help  him  up. 
He  was  quite  dead,  killed  in  the  act  of 
rising  from  the  ground.  His  grotesque 
posture  struck  me  at  the  time  as  funny, 
and  I  could  not  help  smiling.  I  suppose 
I  was  nervous. 

Our  line  was  wearing  thin.  Halfway 
to  the  third  trench  we  were  reinforced 
by  Battalion  E  coining  from  behind. 
The  ground  in  our  rear  was  covered 
with  our  men. 

All  at  once  came  a  change.  The  Ger- 
man artillery  in  front  ceased  firing, 
and  the  next  second  we  saw  the  reason 
why.  In  the  trench  ahead,  the  German 
troops  in  black  masses  were  pouring 
out  and  advancing  toward  us  at  a  trot. 
Was  it  a  counter-attack  ?  "  Tant 
mieux,"  said  a  man  near  me;  another, 
of  a  different  race,  said,  "We  '11  show 

39 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

them  I "  Then  as  suddenly  our  own  ar- 
tillery ceased  firing,  and  the  mystery 
became  plain.  The  Germans  were  ap- 
proaching in  columns  of  fours,  officers 
to  the  front,  hands  held  in  the  air,  and, 
as  they  came  closer,  we  could  distin- 
guish the  steady  cry,  "Kameradenl 
Kameradenl" 

They  were  surrendering.  How  we 
went  at  our  work  I  Out  flew  our  knives, 
and,  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell 
it,  we  had  mingled  among  the  prison- 
ers, slicing  off  their  trousers  buttons, 
cutting  off  suspenders,  and  hacking 
through  belts.  All  the  war  shoes  had 
their  laces  cut,  according  to  the  regula- 
tions laid  down  in  the  last  French 
"Manual,"  and  thus,  slopping  along, 
hands  helplessly  in  their  breeches 
pockets  to  keep  their  trousers  from 
falling  round  their  ankles,  shuffling 
4o 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

their  feet  to  keep  their  boots  on,  the 
huge  column  of  prisoners  was  sent  to 
the  rear  with  a  few  soldiers  to  direct 
rather  than  to  guard  them.  There  was 
no  fight  left  in  them  now.  A  terror- 
stricken  group ;  some  of  them,  tempo- 
rarily at  least,  half  insane. 

As  the  Germans  left  the  trenches, 
their  artillery  had  paused,  thinking 
it  a  counter-attack.  Now,  as  file  after 
file  was  escorted  to  the  rear  and  it  be- 
came apparent  to  their  rear  lines  that 
the  men  had  surrendered,  the  German 
artillery  saw  its  mistake  and  opened  up 
again  furiously  at  the  dark  masses  of 
defenseless  prisoners.  We,  too,  were 
subjected  to  a  terrific  fire.  Six  shells 
landed  at  the  same  instant  in  almost 
the  same  place,  and  within  a  few  min- 
utes Section  III  of  our  company  had 
almost  disappeared.  I  lost  two  of  my 
4i 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

own  section,  Casey  and  Leguen,  both 
severely  wounded  in  the  leg.  I  counted 
fourteen  men  of  my  command  still  on 
their  feet.  The  company  seemed  to 
have  shrunk  two  thirds.  A  few  min- 
utes later,  we  entered  the  trench  lately 
evacuated  by  the  Prussians  and  left  it 
by  a  very  deep  communication  trench 
which  we  knew  led  to  our  destination, 
Ferme  Navarin.  Just  at  the  entrance 
we  passed  signboards,  marked  in  big 
letters  with  black  paint,  Schutzen- 

GRABEN  SpANDAU. 

This  trench  ran  zigzag,  in  the  gen- 
eral direction  north  and  south.  In 
many  places  it  was  filled  level  with  dirt 
and  rocks  kicked  in  by  our  big  shells. 
From  the  mass  of  debris  hands  and 
legs  were  sticking  stiffly  out  at  gro- 
tesque angles.  In  one  place,  the  heads 
of  two  men  showed  above  the  loose 

42 


A     SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

brown  earth.  Here  and  there,  men 
were  sitting,  their  backs  against  the 
wall  of  the  trench,  quite  dead,  with  not 
a  wound  showing.  In  one  deep  crater, 
excavated  by  our  320-millimetres,  lay 
five  Saxons,  side  by  side,  in  the  pit 
where  they  had  sought  refuge,  killed 
by  the  bursting  of  a  single  shell.  One, 
a  man  of  about  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  lay  on  his  back,  his  legs  tensely 
doubled,  elbows  thrust  back  into  the 
ground,  and  fingers  dug  into  the  palms ; 
eyes  staring  in  terror  and  mouth  wide 
open.  I  could  not  help  carrying  the  pic- 
ture of  fear  away  with  me,  and  I 
thought  to  myself,  That  man  died  a 
coward.  Just  alongside  of  him,  resting 
on  his  left  side,  lay  a  blond  giant 
stretched  out  easily,  almost  graceful  in 
death.  His  two  hands  were  laid  to- 
gether, palm  to  pahn,  in  prayer.    Be- 

43 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

tween  them  was  a  photograph.  The 
look  upon  his  face  was  cahn  and  peace- 
ful. The  contrast  of  his  figure  with  his 
neighbor's  struck  me.  I  noticed  that  a 
paper  protruded  from  his  partly  opened 
blouse,  and,  picking  it  up,  I  read  the 
heading,  *'Ein'  Feste  Burg  ist  Unser 
Gott."  It  was  a  two-leaved  tract.  I 
drew  a  blanket  over  him  and  followed 
my  section. 

The  trench  we  marched  in  wound 
along  in  the  shelter  of  a  little  ridge 
crowned  with  scrubby  pines.  Here  the 
German  shells  bothered  us  but  httle. 
We  were  out  of  sight  of  their  observa- 
tion posts,  and,  consequently,  their 
fire  was  uncontrolled  and  no  longer 
effective.  On  we  went.  At  every  other 
step  our  feet  pressed  down  upon  sol- 
diers' corpses,  lying  indiscriminately 
one  on  top  of  the  other,  sometimes 
44 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

almost  filling  the  trench.  I  brushed 
against  one  who  sat  braced  against  the 
side  of  the  trench,  the  chin  resting  up- 
on folded  arms  naturally  —  yet  quite 
dead.  It  was  through  this  trench  that 
the  Germans  had  tried  to  rush  rein- 
forcements into  the  tlireatened  posi- 
tion, and  here  the  men  were  slaugh- 
tered, without  a  chance  to  go  back 
or  forward.  Hemmed  in  by  shells  in 
both  front  and  rear,  many  hundreds 
had  climbed  into  the  open  and  tried  to 
escape  over  the  fields  toward  the  pine 
forest,  only  to  be  mown  down  as  they 
ran.  For  hundreds  of  metres  continu- 
ously my  feet,  as  I  trudged  along,  did 
not  touch  the  ground.  In  many  of  the 
bodies  life  was  not  yet  extinct,  but  we 
had  to  leave  them  for  the  Red  Cross 
men.  We  had  our  orders.  No  delay 
was  possible,  and,  at  any  rate,  our 
45 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

minds  were  clogged  with  our  own  work 
ahead. 

Making  such  time  as  we  could,  we 
finally  arrived  at  the  summit  of  the 
little  ridge.  Then  we  left  the  cover  of 
the  trench,  formed  in  Indian  file,  fifty 
metres  between  sections,  and,  at  the 
signal,  moved  forward  swiftly  and  in 
order. 

It  was  a  pretty  bit  of  tactics  and  ex- 
ecuted with  a  dispatch  and  neatness 
hardly  equalled  on  the  drill-ground. 
The  first  files  of  the  sections  were 
abreast,  while  the  men  fell  in,  one  close 
behind  the  other;  and  so  we  crossed  the 
ridge,  offering  the  smallest  possible  tar- 
get to  the  enemy's  guns.  Before  us  and 
a  httle  to  our  left  was  the  Ferme  Nava- 
rin,  our  goal.  As  we  descended  the 
slope,  we  were  greeted  by  a  new  hail  of 
iron.  Shells  upon  shells,  fired  singly, 
46 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

by  pairs,  by  salvos,  from  six-gun  bat- 
teries, crashed  and  exploded  around 
us. 

We  increased  the  pace  to  a  run  and 
arrived  out  of  breath  abreast  of  im- 
mense pits  dynamited  out  of  the  ground 
by  prodigious  explosions.  Embedded 
in  them  we  could  see  three  enemy  how- 
itzers, but  not  a  living  German  was 
left.  All  had  disappeared. 

We  entered  the  pits  and  rested  for  a 
space.  After  a  moment  we  crawled  up 
the  side  of  the  pit  and  peeked  over  the 
edge.  There  I  could  see  Doumergue 
stretched  on  the  ground.  He  was  lying 
on  his  back,  his  shoulders  and  head  sup- 
ported by  his  knapsack.  His  right  leg 
was  doubled  under  him,  and  I  could 
see  that  he  had  been  struck  down  in 
the  act  of  running.  As  I  watched,  he 
strained  weakly  to  roll  himself  side- 

47 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

ways  and  free  his  leg.  Slowly,  spas- 
modically, his  leg  moved.  Very,  very 
slowly  the  foot  dragged  itself  along 
the  ground,  and  finally  the  limb  was 
stretched  alongside  the  other.  Then 
I  saw  his  rough,  wan  face  assume  a 
look  of  satisfaction.  His  eyes  closed. 
A  sigh  passed  between  his  lips,  and 
Doumergue  had  gone  with  the  rest, 
i  As  we  waited  there,  the  mood  of  the 
men  seemed  to  change.  Their  spirits 
began  to  rise.  One  jest  started  another, 
and  soon  we  were  all  laughing  at  the 
memory  of  the  German  prisoners 
marching  to  the  rear,  holding  up  their 
trousers  with  both  hands.  Some  of  the 
men  had  taken  the  welcome  opportu- 
nity of  searching  the  prisoners  while 
cutting  their  suspenders,  and  most  of 
them  were  now  puffing  German  ciga- 
rettes. One  of  them,  Haeffle,  offered  me 
48 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

a  piece  of  K.  K.  bread, ^  black  as  ink.  I 
declined  with  thanks,  for  I  did  n't  like 
the  looks  of  it.  In  the  relaxation  of  the 
moment,  nobody  paid  any  attention  to 
the  shells  falhng  outside  the  httle  open 
shelter,  until  Capdeveille  proposed  to 
crawl  inside  one  of  the  German  how- 
itzers for  security.  Alas,  he  was  too  fat, 
and  stuck  I  I  myself  hoped  rather 
strongly  that  no  shell  would  enter  one 
of  these  pits  in  which  the  company  had 
found  shelter,  because  I  knew  there 
were  several  thousand  rounds  of  am- 
munition piled  near  each  piece  hidden 
under  the  dirt,  and  an  explosion  might 
make  it  hot  for  us. 

As  we  sat  there,  smoking  and  chat- 
ing,  Delpeuch,  the  homme  des  liaisonSy 
as  he  is  called,  of  the  company,  shd 
over  the  edge  of  the  hollow  and  brought 

*  Kriegs  Kartojjel  Brot. 
49 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

with  him  the  order  to  leave  the  pit 
in  single  file  and  to  descend  to  the 
bottom  of  the  incline,  in  line  with 
some  trees  which  he  pointed  out  to  us. 
There  we  were  to  deploy  in  open  order 
and  dig  shelter-trenches  for  ourselves 
—  though  I  can  tell  the  reader  that 
"shelter"  is  a  poor  word  to  use  in  such 
a  connection.  It  seems  we  had  to  wait 
for  artillery  before  making  the  attack 
on  Navarin  itself.  The  trench  "  Span- 
dau,"  so  Delpeuch  told  me,  was  being 
put  into  shape  by  the  engineers  and 
was  £dready  partially  filled  with  troops 
who  were  coming  up  to  our  support. 
The  same  message  had  been  carried  to 
the  other  section.  As  we  filed  out  of 
our  pit,  we  saw  them  leaving  theirs.  In 
somewhat  loose  formation,  we  ran  full- 
tilt  down  the  hill,  and,  at  the  assigned 
position,  flung  ourselves  on  the  ground 

5o 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and  began  digging  Kke  mad.  We  had 
made  the  last  stretch  without  losing  a 
man. 

The  Ferme  Navarin  was  two  hun- 
dred metres  from  where  we  lay.  From 
it  came  a  heavy  rifle  and  mitrailleuse 
fire,  but  we  did  not  respond.  We  had 
something  else  to  do.  Every  man  had 
his  shovel,  and  every  man  made  the 
dirt  fly.  In  what  seemed  half  a  minute 
we  had  formed  a  continuous  parapet, 
twelve  to  fourteen  inches  in  height, 
and  with  our  knapsacks  placed  to  keep 
the  dirt  in  position,  we  felt  quite  safe 
against  infantry  and  machine-gun  fire. 
Next,  each  man  proceeded  to  dig  his 
Uttle  individual  niche  in  the  ground, 
about  a  yard  deep,  twenty  inches  wide, 
and  long  enough  to  lie  down  in  with 
comfort.  Between  each  two  men  there 
remained  a  partition  wall  of  dirt,  from 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

ten  to  fifteen  inches  thick,  the  useful- 
ness of  which  was  immediately  demon- 
strated by  a  shell  which  fell  into  Blon- 
dino's  niche,  blowing  him  to  pieces 
without  injuring  either  of  his  compan- 
ions to  the  right  or  the  left. 

We  were  comfortable  and  able  to 
take  pot  shots  at  the  Gennsms  and  to 
indulge  again  in  the  old  trench  game  of 
sticking  a  helmet  on  a  bayonet,  push- 
ing it  a  httle  above  the  dirt,  and  thus 
coaxing  the  Germans  into  a  shot  and 
immediately  responding  with  four  or 
five  rifles.  I  looked  at  my  watch.  It 
said  10.45  —  just  an  hour  and  a  half 
since  we  had  left  our  trenches  and 
started  on  our  charge;  an  hour  and  a 
half  in  which  I  had  lived  days  and 
years. 

I  was  pretty  well  tired  out  and 
would  have  given  the  world  for  a  few 

5a 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

hours',  sleep.  I  called  to  Merrick  to 
toss  me  Blondino's  canteen.  Mine  was 
empty,  and  Blondino  had  left  his  be- 
hind when  he  departed  with  the  io5- 
millimetre.  Haeffle  remarked  that 
Blondino  was  always  making  a  noise 
anyway. 

The  artillery  fire  died  down  gradu- 
ally and  only  one  German  battery  was 
still  sweeping  us  now.  Our  long-range 
pieces  thundered  behind  us,  and  we 
could  hear  shells  "swooshing"  over- 
head in  a  constant  stream  on  their  way 
to  the  German  target.  Our  fire  was  evi- 
dently beating  down  the  German  artil- 
lery fire  excepting  the  single  battery 
which  devoted  its  attention  to  us.  The 
guns  were  hidden,  and  our  artillery  did 
not  seem  able  to  locate  them.  Our  aero- 
planes, long  hovering  overhead,  began 
to  swoop  dangerously  low.    A  swift 

53 


•A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

Morane  plane  swept  by  at  a  height  of 
two  hundred  metres  over  the  pine  for- 
est where  the  German  guns  were  hid- 
den. We  watched  him  as  he  returned 
safe  to  our  lines. 

Soon  the  order  came  down  the  line 
to  deepen  the  trenches.  It  seemed  we 
were  to  stay  there  until  night. 

The  charge  was  over. 


V 

Time  passed  very  slowly.  I  raised  my 
arm  to  listen  to  my  wrist-watch,  but 
could  n't  hear  it.  Too  many  shells  I 

I  knelt  cautiously  in  my  hole,  and, 
looking  over  the  edge,  counted  my  sec- 
tion. There  were  but  eighteen  men. 
The  Collettes,  both  corporals,  were  on 
the  extreme  left.  Next  came  Capde- 
veille,  Dowd,  Zinn,  Seeger,  Scanlon, 
King,  Soubiron,  Dubois,  Corporal  Met- 
tayer,  Haeffle,  Saint-Hilaire,  Schneli, 
De  Sumera,  Corporal  Denis,  Bur-bek- 
kar,  and  Birchler.  On  my  left,  two 
paces  in  the  rear  of  the  section,  were 
Neumayer,  Corporal  Fourrier,  and 
Sergeant  Fourrier.  Both  these  were 
supernumeraries.  The  second  sergeant 
was  over  with  Section  II.  I  began  now 

55 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

to  realize  our  losses.  Fully  two  thirds 
of  my  section  were  killed  or  wounded. 

I  wanted  information  from  Corporal 
Denis  regarding  the  men  of  his  squad. 
Throwing  a  lump  of  dirt  at  him  to  at- 
tract his  attention,  I  motioned  to  him 
to  roll  over  to  the  side  of  his  hole  and 
make  a  place  for  me.  Then,  with  two 
quick  jumps  I  landed  alongside  him. 
As  I  dropped  we  noticed  spurts  of  dust 
rising  from  the  dirt-pile  in  front  of  the 
hole  and  smiled.  The  Germans  were 
too  slow  that  time.  Putting  my  lips  to 
his  ears,  I  shouted  my  questions  and 
got  my  information. 

This  hole  was  quite  large  enough  to 
accommodate  both  of  us,  so  I  decided 
to  stay  with  him  awhile.  Corporal 
Denis  still  had  bread  and  cheese  and 
shared  it  with  me.  We  lunched  in  com- 
fort. 

50 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

Having  finished,  we  rolled  cigarettes. 
I  had  no  matches,  and  as  he  reached 
his  cigarette  to  me  to  light  mine,  he 
jumped  almost  to  his  feet,  rolled  on  his 
face,  and  with  both  hands  clasped  to 
his  face,  tried  to  rise,  but  could  n't. 
I've  seen  men  who  were  knocked  out 
in  the  squared  ring  do  the  same  thing. 
With  heads  resting  on  the  floor,  they 
try  to  get  up.  They  get  up  on  their 
knees  and  seem  to  try  to  lift  their  heads, 
but  can't.  Denis  tugged  and  tugged, 
without  avail.  I  knelt  alongside  him 
and  forced  his  hands  from  his  face.  He 
was  covered  with  blood  spurting  out  of 
a  three-inch  gash  running  from  the  left 
eye  down  to  the  corner  of  the  mouth. 
A  steel  splinter  had  entered  there  and 
passed  under  the  left  ear.  He  must 
stay  in  the  trench  until  nightfall. 

I  reached  for  his  emergency  dressing 
57 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and  as  I  made  the  motion  felt  a  blow  in 
the  right  shoulder.  As  soon  as  I  had 
got  Denis  tied  up  and  quiet,  I  unbut- 
toned my  coat  and  shirt  and  picked 
a  rifle-ball  out  of  my  own  shoulder. 
The  wound  was  not  at  all  serious  and 
bled  but  little.  I  congratulated  myself, 
but  wondered  why  the  ball  did  not 
penetrate;  and  then  I  caught  sight  of 
Denis's  rifle  lying  over  the  parapet  and 
showing  a  hole  in  the  woodwork.  The 
ball  seemed  to  have  passed  through 
the  magazine  of  the  rifle,  knocked  out 
one  cartridge,  and  then  hit  me. 

When  I  was  ready  to  return  to  my 
own  hole,  I  rose  a  Uttle  too  high  and 
the  Germans  turned  loose  with  a  ma- 
chine gun,  but  too  liigh.  I  got  back 
safely  and  lay  down.  It  was  getting 
very  monotonous.  To  pass  the  time,  I 
dug  my  hole  deeper  and  larger,  placing 
58 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  loose  dirt  in  front  in  a  quarter-cir- 
cle, until  I  felt  perfectly  safe  against 
anything  except  a  direct  hit  by  a  shell. 
There  is  but  one  chance  in  a  thousand 
of  that  happening. 

The  day  passed  slowly  and  without 
mishap  to  my  section.  As  night  fell, 
one  half  of  the  section  stayed  on  the 
alert  four  hours,  while  the  other  half 
slept.  The  second  sergeant  had  re- 
turned and  relieved  me  at  twelve,  mid- 
night. I  pulled  several  handfuls  of 
grass,  and  with  that  and  two  overcoats 
I  had  stripped  from  dead  Germans  dur- 
ing the  night,  I  made  a  comfortable 
bed  and  lay  down  to  sleep.  The  bank 
was  not  uncomfortable.  I  was  very 
tired,  and  dozed  off  immediately. 

Suddenly  I  awoke  in  darkness.  Ev- 
erything was  still,  and  I  could  hear  my 
watch  ticking,  but  over  every  part 

59 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

of  me  there  was  an  immense  leaden 
weight.  I  tried  to  rise,  and  could  n't 
move.  Something  was  holding  me  and 
choking  me  at  the  same  time.  There 
was  no  air  to  breathe.  I  set  my  mus- 
cles and  tried  to  give  a  strong  heave. 
As  I  drew  in  my  breath,  my  mouth 
filled  with  dirt.  I  was  buried  alive  I 

It  is  curious  what  a  man  thinks 
about  when  he  is  in  trouble.  Into  my 
mind  shot  memories  of  feats  of 
strength  performed.  Why,  I  was  the 
strongest  man  in  the  section.  Surely  I 
could  lift  myself  out,  I  thought  to  my- 
self, and  my  confidence  began  to  re- 
turn. I  worked  the  dirt  out  of  my 
mouth  with  the  tip  of  my  tongue  and 
prepared  myself  mentally  for  the  sud- 
den heave  that  would  free  me.  A  quick 
inhalation,  and  my  mouth  filled  again 
with  dirt.  I  could  not  move  a  muscle 
60 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

under  my  skin.  And  then  I  seemed  to 
be  two  people.  The  *'I"  who  was 
thinking  seemed  to  be  at  a  distance 
from  the  body  lying  there. 

My  Godl  Am  I  going  to  die 
stretched  out  in  a  hole  like  this?  I 
thought. 

Through  my  mind  flashed  a  picture 
of  the  way  I  had  always  hoped  to  die — 
the  way  I  had  a  right  to  die:  face  to  the 
enemy  and  running  toward  him.  Why, 
that  was  part  of  a  soldier's  wages.  I 
tried  to  shout  for  help,  and  more  dirt 
entered  my  mouth  I  I  could  feel  it 
gritting  way  down  in  my  throat.  My 
tongue  was  locked  so  I  could  not  move 
it.  I  watched  the  whole  picture.  I  was 
standing  a  little  way  off  and  could  hear 
myself  gurgle.  My  throat  was  rattling, 
and  I  said  to  myself,  "That's  the  fin- 
ish I"   Then  I  grew  calm.   It  wasn't 

6i 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

hurting  so  much,  and  somehow  or 
other  I  seemed  to  reahze  that  a  soldier 
had  taken  a  soldier's  chance  and  lost. 
It  was  n't  his  fault.  He  had  done  the 
best  he  could.  Then  the  pain  all  left 
me  and  the  world  went  black.  It  was 
death. 

Then  somebody  yelled,  "Hell!  He 
bit  my  finger."  I  could  hear  him. 

"That's  nothing,"  said  a  voice  I 
knew  as  CoUette's.  "  Get  the  dirt  out 
of  his  mouth." 

Again  a  finger  entered  my  throat, 
and  I  coughed  spasmodically. 

Some  one  was  working  my  arms 
backward,  and  my  right  shoulder  hurt 
me.  I  struggled  up,  but  sank  to  my 
knees  and  began  coughing  up  dirt. 

"Here,"  says  Soubiron,  " turn  round 
and  spit  that  dirt  on  your  parapet.  It 
all  helps."  The  remark  made  me  smile. 

§2 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

I  was  quite  all  right  now,  and  Sou- 
biron,  Collette,  Joe,  and  Marcel  re- 
turned to  their  holes.  The  Red  Cross 
men  were  picking  something  out  of  the 
hole  made  by  a  25o-millimetre,  they 
told  me.  It  was  the  remnant  of  Cor- 
poral and  Sergeant  Fourrier,  who  had 
their  trench  to  my  left.  It  seems  that 
a  ten-inch  shell  had  entered  the  ground 
at  the  edge  of  my  hole,  exploded 
a  depth  of  two  metres,  tearing  the 
corporal  and  the  sergeant  to  pieces, 
and  kicking  several  cubic  metres  of 
dirt  into  and  on  top  of  me.  Soubiron 
and  the  CoUettes  saw  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  immediately  started  dig- 
ging me  out.  They  had  been  just  in 
time.  It  was  n't  long  before  my 
strength  began  to  come  back.  Two 
stretcher-bearers  came  up  to  carry  me 
to  the  rear,  but  I  declined  their  serv- 
es 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

ices.  There  was  too  much  going  on.  I 
dug  out  the  German  overcoats,  recov- 
ered some  grass,  and,  bedding  myself 
down  in  the  crater  made  by  the  shell, 
began  to  feel  quite  safe  again.  Light- 
ning never  strikes  twice  in  the  same 
spot. 

However,  that  was  n't  much  like  the 
old-fashioned  lightning.  The  enemy 
seemed  to  have  picked  upon  my  sec- 
tion. The  shells  were  falling  thicker 
and  closer.  Everybody  was  broad 
awake  now,  and  all  of  us  seemed  to  be 
waiting  for  a  shell  to  drop  into  our 
holes.  It  was  only  a  question  of  time 
before  we  should  be  wiped  out. 
Haeffle  called  my  attention  to  a  little 
trench  we  all  had  noticed  during  the 
daytime,  about  forty  metres  in  front 
of  us.  No  fire  had  come  from  there, 
and  it  was  evidently  quite  abandoned. 
64 


A,  SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

I  took  ilacflle  and  Saint-Hilaire 
with  me  and  quietly  crawled  over  to 
the  trench,  round  the  end  of  it,  and 
started  to  enter  at  about  the  middle. 

Then  all  of  a  sudden  a  wild  yell 
came  out  of  the  darkness  in  front  of  us. 

* '  Fr anzosen !  Die  Franzosen ! '  * 
''  We  could  n't  see  anything,  nor  they 
either.  There  might  have  been  a  regi- 
ment of  us,  or  of  them  for  that  matter. 
I  screeched  out  in  German,  "Hande 
hoch  1 "  and  jumped  into  the  trench  fol- 
lowed by  my  two  companions.  As  we 
crouched  in  the  bottom,  I  yelled  again, 
"Hande  hoch  oder  wir  schiessenl" 

The  response  was  the  familiar  "Ka- 
meradenl  KameradenI"  Haeffle  gave 
an  audible  chuckle. 

Calling  again  on  my  German,  I  or- 
dered the  men  to  step  out  of  the  trench 
with  hands  held  high,  and  to  march 

65 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

toward  our  line.  I  assured  the  poor 
devils  we  would  n't  hurt  them.  They 
thought  there  was  a  division  of  us, 
more  or  less,  and  I  don't  know  how 
much  confidence  they  put  in  my  assur- 
ance. Anyhow,  as  they  scrambled 
over  the  parapet,  I  counted  six  of  them 
prisoners  to  the  three  of  us.  Haeffle 
and  Saint-Hilaire  escorted  them  back 
and  also  took  word  to  the  second  ser- 
geant to  let  the  section  crawl,  one  after 
the  other,  up  this  trench  to  where  I  was. 

One  by  one  the  men  came  on,  crawl- 
ing in  single  file,  and  I  put  them  to 
work,  carefully  and  noiselessly  revers- 
ing the  parapet.  This  German  trench 
was  very  deep,  with  niches  cut  into  the 
bank  at  intervals  of  one  metre,  permit- 
ting the  men  to  lie  down  comfortably. 

It  was  then  that  I  happened  to  feel 
of  my  belt.    One  of  the  straps  had 

66 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

been  cut  clean  through  and  my  wallet, 
which  had  held  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  francs,  had  been  neatly  removed. 
Some  one  of  my  men,  who  had  risked 
his  life  for  mine  with  a  self-devotion 
that  could  scarcely  be  surpassed,  had 
felt  that  liis  need  was  greater  than 
mine.  Whoever  he  was,  I  bear  him  no 
grudge.  Poor  chap,  if  he  hved  he 
needed  the  money  —  and  that  day  he 
surely  did  me  a  good  turn.  Besides, 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Legion. 

I  placed  sentries,  took  care  to  find  a 
good  place  for  myself,  and  was  just 
dropping  off  to  sleep  as  Haeffle  and 
Saint-Hilaire  returned  and  communi- 
cated to  me  the  captain's  compliments 
and  the  assurance  of  a  ''citation.'' 

I  composed  myself  to  sleep  and 
dropped  off  quite  content. 


VI 

It  seemed  but  a  few  minutes  when  I 
was  awakened  by  Collette  and  Marcel, 
who  offered  me  a  steaming  cup  of  cof- 
fee, half  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  some 
Swiss  cheese.  This  food  had  been 
brought  from  the  rear  while  I  was  lying 
asleep.  My  appetite  was  splendid,  and 
when  Sergeant  Malvoisin  offered  me  a 
drink  of  rum  in  a  canteen  that  he  took 
off  a  dead  German,  I  accepted  grate- 
fully.' Just  then  the  agent  de  liaison 
appeared,  with  the  order  to  assemble 
the  section,  and  in  single  file,  second 
section  at  thirty-metre  interval,  to  re- 
turn the  way  we  had  come. 

It  was  almost  dayhght  and  things 
were  visible  at  two  to  three  metres. 
The  bombardment  had  died  down  and 

68 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  quiet  was  hardly  disturbed  by  oc- 
casional shots.  Our  captain  marched 
ahead  of  the  second  section,  swinging  a 
cane  and  contentedly  puffing  on  his 
pipe.  Nearly  everybody  was  smoking. 
As  we  marched  along  we  noticed  that 
new  trenches  had  been  dug  during  the 
night,  from  sixty  to  a  hundred  metres 
in  the  rear  of  the  position  we  had  held, 
and  these  trenches  were  filled  by  the 
Twenty-ninth  Chasseurs  Regiment, 
which  replaced  us. 

Very  cunningly  these  trenches  were 
arranged.  They  were  deep  and  nar- 
row, fully  seven  feet  deep  and  barely  a 
yard  wide.  At  every  favorable  point, 
on  every  little  rise  in  the  ground,  a  sa- 
lient had  been  constructed,  projecting 
out  from  the  main  trench  ten  to  fifteen 
metres,  protected  by  heavy  logs,  cor- 
rugated steel  sheets,  and  two  to  three 
69 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

feet  of  dirt.  Each  side  of  the  salients 
bristled  with  machine  guns.  Any  at- 
tack upon  this  position  would  be  bound 
to  fail,  owing  to  the  intense  volume  of 
fire  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  flanks  of  the  enemy. 

To  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  the 
Engineer  Corps  had  dug  rows  of  cup- 
shaped  bowls,  two  feet  in  diameter, 
two  feet  deep,  leaving  but  a  narrow 
wedge  of  dirt  between  each  two;  and  in 
the  center  of  each  bowl  was  placed  a 
six-pointed  twisted  steel  "porcupine." 
This  instrument,  no  matter  how  placed, 
always  presents  a  sharp  point  right  at 
you.  Five  rows  of  these  man-traps  I 
counted,  separated  by  a  thin  wall  of 
dirt,  not  strong  enough  to  maintain  the 
weight  of  a  man,  so  that  any  one  who 
attempted  to  rush  past  would  be 
thrown  against  the  "porcupine"  and 
70 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

be  spitted  like  a  pigeon.  As  an  addi^ 
tional  precaution  a  mass  of  barbed 
wire  lay  in  rolls,  ready  to  be  placed  in 
front  of  this  ouvrage,  to  make  it  safe 
against  any  surprise. 

We  marched  along,  talking  and  chat- 
ting, discussing  this  and  that,  without  a 
care  in  the  world.  Every  one  hoped 
we  were  going  to  the  rear  to  recuperate 
and  enjoy  a  good  square  meal  and  a 
good  night's  rest.  Seeger  wanted  a 
good  wash,  he  said.  He  was  rather 
dirty,  and  so  was  I.  My  puttees  dan- 
gled in  pieces  round  my  calves.  It 
seems  I  had  torn  them  going  through 
the  German  wire  the  day  before.  I 
told  Haeffle  to  keep  his  eyes  open  for  a 
good  pair  on  some  dead  man.  He  said 
he  would. 

The  company  marched  round  the 
hill  we  descended  so  swiftly  yesterday 
71 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and,  describing  a  semicircle,  entered 
again  the  Schiitzengraben  Spandau  and 
marched  back  in  the  direction  we  had 
come  from.  The  trench,  however,  pre- 
sented a  different  appearance.  The 
bad  places  had  been  repaired,  the  loose 
dirt  had  been  shoveled  out,  and  the 
dead  had  disappeared.  On  the  east 
side  of  the  trench  an  extremely  high 
parapet  had  been  built.  In  this  para- 
pet even  loopholes  appeared  —  rather 
funny-looking  loopholes,  I  thought; 
and  when  I  looked  closer,  I  saw  that 
they  were  framed  in  by  boots  1  I 
reached  my  hand  into  several  of  them 
as  we  walked  along,  and  touched  the 
limbs  of  dead  men.  The  engineer,  it 
seems,  in  need  of  material,  had  placed 
the  dead  Germans  on  top  of  the  ground, 
feet  flush  with  the  inside  of  the  ditch, 
leaving  from  six  to  seven  inches  be- 
7a 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

tween  two  bodies,  and  laying  another 
body  crosswise  on  top  of  the  two, 
spanning  the  gap  between  them.  Then 
they  had  shoveled  the  dirt  on  top  of 
them,  thus  killing  two  birds  with  one 
stone. 

The  discovery  created  a  riot  of  ex- 
citement among  the  men.  Curses  in- 
termingled with  laughter  came  from 
ahead  of  us.  Everybody  was  tickled  by 
the  ingenuity  of  our  genie.  "They  are 
marvelous  I "  we  thought.  Dowd's  face 
showed  consternation,  yet  he  could  not 
help  smiling.  Little  King  was  pale 
around  the  mouth,  yet  his  hps  were 
twisted  in  a  grin.  It  was  horribly  amus- 
ing. 

^  Every  two  hundred  metres  we 
passed  groups  of  soldiers  of  the  one 
Hundred  and  Seventieth  Regiment  on 
duty  in  the  trench.   The  front  line, 

73 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

they  told  us,  was  twelve  hundred  me- 
tres farther  east,  and  this  trench 
formed  the  second  Hne  for  their  regi- 
ment. We  entered  the  third-line  trench 
of  the  Germans,  from  which  they  ran 
yesterday  to  surrender,  and  continued 
marching  in  the  same  direction  —  al- 
ways east.  Here  we  had  a  chance  to 
investigate  the  erstwhile  German  habi- 
tations. 

Exactly  forty  paces  apart  doorways 
opened  into  the  dirt  bank,  and  from 
each  of  them  fourteen  steps  descended 
at  about  forty-five  degrees  into  a  cel- 
lar-like room.  The  stairs  were  built  of 
wood  and  the  sides  of  the  stairways 
and  the  chambers  below  were  lined 
with  one-inch  pine  boards.  These  dom- 
iciles must  have  been  quite  comfort- 
able and  safe,  but  now  they  were 
choked  with  bodies.  As  we  continued 

74 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

our  leisurely  way,  we  met  some  of  om* 
trench-cleaners  and  they  recited  their 
experiences  with  gusto.  The  Germans, 
they  told  us,  pointing  down  into  the 
charnel-houses,  refused  to  come  and 
give  up,  and  even  fired  at  them  when 
summoned  to  surrender.  "Then  what 
did  you  do?"  I  asked.  "Very  simple," 
answered  one.  "We  stood  on  the  top 
of  the  ground  right  above  the  door  and 
hurled  grenade  after  grenade  through 
the  doorway  until  all  noise  gradually 
ceased  down  below.  Then  we  went  to 
the  next  hole  and  did  the  same  thing. 
It  was  n't  at  all  dangerous,"  he  added, 
"and  very  effective." 

We  moved  but  slowly  along  the 
trench,  and  every  once  in  a  while  there 
was  a  halt  while  some  of  the  men  inves- 
tigated promising  "prospects,"  where 
the  holes  packed  with  dead  Germans 

75 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

held  out  some  promise  of  loot.  Owing 
to  the  order  of  march,  the  first  com- 
pany was  the  last  one  in  line,  and  my 
section  at  the  very  end.  The  head  of 
the  colmnn  was  the  fom'th  company, 
then  the  third,  the  second;  and  then 
we.  By  the  time  my  section  came  to 
any  hole  holding  out  hopes  of  souve- 
nirs, there  was  nothing  left  for  us.  Yet 
I  did  find  a  German  officer  with  a  new 
pair  of  leg-bands,  and,  hastily  unwind- 
ing them,  I  discarded  my  own  and  put 
on  the  new  ones.  As  I  bound  them  on 
I  noticed  the  name  on  the  tag  —  "  Hin- 
denburg."  I  suppose  the  name  stands 
for  quality  with  the  Boches. 

We  left  the  trench  and  swung  into 
another  communication  trench,  going 
to  the  left,  still  in  an  easterly  direction, 
straight  on  toward  the  Butte  de  Sou- 
ain.  That  point  we  knew  was  still  in 
76 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  hands  of  the  Germans,  and  very 
quickly  they  welcomed  us.  Shells  came 
shrieking  down  —  one  hundred  and 
five  millimetres,  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
two  hundred  and  ten,  and  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty.  It's  very  easy  to  tell 
when  you  are  close  to  them,  even 
though  you  can't  see  a  thing.  When  a 
big  shell  passes  high,  it  sounds  like  a 
white-hot  piece  of  iron  suddenly  doused 
in  cold  water;  but  when  it  gets  close, 
the  sw-i-ish  suddenly  rises  in  a  high 
crescendo,  a  shriek  punctuated  by  a 
horrible  roar.  The  uniformity  of  move- 
ment as  the  men  ducked  was  beauti- 
ful I  —  and  they  all  did  it.  One  mo- 
ment there  was  a  line  of  gray  helmets 
bobbing  up  and  down  the  trenches  as 
the  line  plodded  on;  and  the  next  in- 
stant one  could  see  only  a  line  of  black 
canvas  close  to  the  ground^  as  every 

77 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

man  ducked  and  shifted  his  shoulder- 
sack  over  his  neck.  My  sack  had  been 
blown  to  pieces  when  I  was  buried,  and 
I  felt  uncomfortably  handicapped  with 
only  my  musette  for  protection  against 
steel  sphnters. 

About  a  mile  from  where  we  entered 
this  boyau,  we  came  to  a  temporary 
halt,  then  went  on  once  more.  The 
fourth  company  had  come  to  a  halt, 
and  we  squeezed  past  them  as  we 
marched  along.  Every  man  of  them 
had  his  shovel  out  and  had  commenced 
digging  a  niche  for  himself.  We  passed 
the  fourth  company,  then  the  third, 
then  the  second,  and  finally  the  first, 
second,  and  third  sections  of  our  own 
company.  Just  beyond,  we  ourselves 
came  to  a  halt  and,  hning  up  one  man 
per  metre,  started  to  organize  the 
trench  for  defensive  purposes.  From 
78 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  other  side  of  a  slight  ridge,  east  of 
us,  and  about  six  hundred  metres  away, 
came  the  sound  of  machine  guns.  Be- 
tween us  and  the  ridge  the  Germans 
were  executing  a  very  Uvely  feu  de 
barrage,  a  screen  of  fire,  prohibiting  any 
idea  of  sending  reinforcements  over  to 
the  front  fine. 

Attached  for  rations  to  my  section 
were  the  commandant  of  the  battalion, 
a  captain,  and  three  sergeants  of  the 
Etat-Major.  Two  of  the  sergeants 
were  at  the  trench  telephone,  and  I 
could  hear  them  report  the  news  to 
the  officers.  "The  Germans,"  they  re- 
ported, "are  penned  in  on  three  sides 
and  are  prevented  from  retreating  by 
our  artiUery."  Twice  they  had  tried 
to  pierce  our  line  between  them  and 
the  Butte  de  Souain,  and  twice  they 
were  driven  back.  Good  news  for  us  I 

79 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

At  lo  A.M.  we  sent  tliree  men  from 
each  section  to  the  rear  for  the  soup. 
At  about  eleven  they  reappeared  with 
steaming  marmites  of  soup,  stew,  and 
coffee,  and  buckets  of  wine.  The  food 
was  very  good,  and  disappeared  to  the 
last  morsel. 

After  we  had  eaten,  the  captain 
granted  me  permission  to  walk  along 
the  ditch  back  to  the  fourth  company. 
The  trench  being  too  crowded  for  com- 
fort, I  walked  alongside  to  the  second 
company,  and  searched  for  my  friend 
Sergeant  Velte.  Finally  I  found  him 
lying  in  a  shell-hole,  side  by  side  with 
his  adjutant  and  Sergeant  Morin.  All 
three  were  dead,  torn  to  pieces  by  one 
shell  shortly  after  we  had  passed  them 
in  the  morning.  At  the  third  company 
they  reported  that  Second  Lieutenant 
Sweeny  had  been  shot  through  the 
80 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

chest  by  a  lost  ball  that  morning.  Hard 
luck  for  Sweeny  1  ^  The  poor  devil  had 
just  been  nominated  sous-lieutenant  at 
the  request  of  the  French  Embassy  in 
Washington,  and  when  he  was  at- 
tached as  supernumerary  to  the  third 
company  we  all  had  hopes  that  he 
would  have  a  chance  to  prove  his 
merit. 

In  the  fourth  company  also  the 
losses  were  severe.  The  part  of  the 
trench  occupied  by  the  three  compa- 
nies was  directly  enfiladed  by  the  Ger- 
man batteries  on  the  Butte  de  Souain, 
and  every  httle  while  a  shell  would  fall 
square  into  the  ditch  and  take  toll  from 
the  occupants.  Our  company  was  fully 
a  thousand  metres  nearer  to  these  bat- 
teries, but  the  trenches  we  occupied 
presented  a  three-quarters  face  to  the 

*  Lieutenant  Sweeny  has  returned  to  America. 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

fire,  and  consequently  were  ever  so 
much  harder  to  hit.  Even  then,  when  I 
got  back  I  found  four  men  hors  de  com- 
bat m  the  fourth  section.  In  my  section 
two  niches  were  demohshed  without 
any  one  being  hit. 

Time  dragged  slowly  until  four  in 
the  afternoon,  when  we  had  soup 
again.  Many  of  the  men  built  httle 
fires  and  with  the  Erbsenwurst  they 
had  found  on  dead  Germans  prepared 
a  very  palatable  soup  by  way  of  extra 
rations. 

At  four  o'clock  sentries  were  posted 
and  everybody  fell  asleep.  A  steady 
rain  was  falling,  and  to  keep  dry  we 
hooked  one  edge  of  our  tent-sheet  on 
the  ground  above  the  niche  and  placed 
dirt  on  top  of  it  to  hold.  Then  we 
pushed  cartridges  through  the  button- 
holes of  the  tent,  pinning  them  into 
82 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  side  of  the  trench  and  forming  a 
good  cover  for  the  occupant  of  the 
hole.  Thus  we  rested  until  the  new 
day  broke,  bringing  a  clear  sky  and 
sunshine.  This  day,  the  27th,  —  the 
third  of  the  battle,  —  passed  without 
mishap  to  my  section.  We  spent  our 
time  eating  and  sleeping,  mildly  dis- 
tracted by  an  intermittent  bombard- 
ment. 


VII 

Another  night  spent  in  the  same 
cramped  quarters  I  We  were  getting 
weary  of  inactivity,  and  it  was  rather 
hard  work  to  keep  the  men  in  the  ditch. 
They  sneaked  off  singly  and  in  pairs, 
always  heading  back  to  the  German 
dugouts,  all  bent  on  turning  things  up- 
side down  in  the  hope  of  finding  some- 
thing of  value  to  carry  as  a  keepsake. 
Haeffle  came  back  once  with  three 
automatic  pistols  but  no  cartridges. 
From  another  trip  he  returned  with  an 
officer's  helmet,  and  the  third  time  he 
brought  triumphantly  back  a  string 
three  feet  long  of  dried  sausages. 
Haeffle  always  did  have  a  healthy  appe- 
tite and  it  transpired  that  on  the  way 
back  he  had  eaten  a  dozen  sausages, 
84 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

more  or  less.  The  dried  meat  had  made 
him  thirsty  and  he  had  drunk  half  a 
canteen  of  water  on  top  of  it.  The  re- 
sult was,  he  swelled  up  hke  a  poisoned 
pup,  and  for  a  time  he  was  surely  a  sick 
man. 

Zinn  found  two  shiny  German  bayo- 
nets, a  long  thin  one  and  one  short  and 
heavy,  and  swore  he  'd  carry  them  for 
a  year  if  he  had  to.  Zinn  hailed  from 
Battle  Creek  and  wanted  to  use  them 
as  brush-knives  on  camping  trips  in  the 
Michigan  woods;  but  alas,  in  the  sequel 
they  got  too  heavy  and  were  dropped 
along  the  road.  One  man  found  a  Ger- 
man pipe  with  a  three-foot  soft-rubber 
stem,  which  he  intended  sending  to 
his  brother  as  a  souvenir.  Man  and 
pipe  are  buried  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Butte  de  Souain.  He  died  that  same 
evening. 

85 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

At  the  usual  time,  4  p.m.,  we  had 
soup,  and  immediately  after  came  the 
order  to  get  ready.  Looking  over  the 
trench,  we  watched  the  fourth  com- 
pany form  in  the  open  back  of  the  ditch 
and,  marching  past  us  in  an  obhque 
direction,  disappear  round  a  spur  of 
wooded  hill.  The  third  company  fol- 
lowed at  four  hundred  metres'  distance, 
then  the  second,  and  as  they  passed 
out  of  sight  around  the  hill,  we  jumped 
out  and,  forming  in  hue,  sections  at 
thirty-metre  intervals,  each  company 
four  hundred  metres  in  the  rear  of  the 
one  ahead,  we  followed,  arme  a  la  brC' 
telle. 

We  were  quite  unobserved  by  the 
enemy,  and  marched  the  length  of  the 
hill  for  three  fourths  of  a  kilometre, 
keeping  just  below  the  crest.  Above  us 
sailed  four  big  French  battle-planes 
86 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and  some  small  aero  scouts,  on  the 
lookout  for  enemy  aircraft.  For  a 
while  it  seemed  as  if  we  should  not  be 
discovered,  and  the  command  was 
given  to  lie  down.  From  where  we  lay 
we  could  observe  clearly  the  ensuing 
scrap  in  the  air,  and  it  was  worth 
watching.  Several  German  planes  had 
approached  close  to  our  lines,  but  were 
discovered  by  the  swift-flying  scouts. 
Immediately  the  little  fellows  returned 
with  the  news  to  the  big  planes,  and 
we  watched  the  monster  biplanes 
mount  to  the  combat.  In  a  wide  circle 
they  swung,  climbing,  climbing  higher 
and  higher,  and  then  headed  in  a  bee- 
Hne  straight  toward  the  German  tau- 
ten. As  they  approached  within  range 
of  each  other,  we  saw  little  clouds  ap- 
pear close  to  the  German  planes,  some 
in  front,  some  over  them,  and  others 
87 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

behind;  and  then,  after  an  interval, 
the  report  of  the  thirty-two-miUimetre 
guns  mounted  on  our  battle-planes 
floated  down  to  us,  immediately  fol- 
lowed like  an  echo  by  the  crack  of  the 
bursting  shell.  Long  before  the  Ger- 
mans could  get  within  effective  range 
for  their  machine  guns,  they  were  pep- 
pered by  our  planes  and  ignominiously 
forced  to  beat  a  retreat.  One  **  alba- 
tross" seemed  to  be  hit.  He  staggered 
from  one  side  to  the  other,  then  dipped 
forward,  and,  standing  straight  on  his 
nose,  dropped  like  a  stone  out  of  sight 
behind  the  forest  crowning  the  hill. 

Again  we  moved  on,  and  shortly  ar- 
rived at  the  southern  spur  of  the  hill. 
Here  the  company  made  a  quarter 
turn  to  the  left,  and  in  the  same  forma- 
tion began  the  ascent  of  the  hill.  The 
second  company  was  just  disappearing 
88 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

into  the  scrubby  pine  forest  on  top. 
We  entered  also,  continued  on  to  the 
top,  and  halted  just  below  the  crest. 
The  captain  called  the  officers  and  ser- 
geants and,  following  him,  we  crawled 
on  our  stomachs  up  to  the  highest 
point  and  looked  over. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  panorama 
that  spread  before  usl  The  four  thin 
ranks  of  the  second  company  seemed 
to  stagger  drunkenly  through  a  sea  of 
green  fire  and  smoke.  One  moment 
gaps  showed  in  the  hues,  only  to  be 
closed  again  as  the  rear  files  spurted. 
Undoubtedly  they  ran  at  top  speed, 
but  to  us  watchers  they  seemed  to 
crawl,  and  at  times  almost  to  stop. 
Mixed  in  with  the  dark  green  of  the 
grass  covering  the  valley  were  rows  of 
lighter  color,  telling  of  the  men  who 
fell  in  that  mad  sprint.  The  continu- 
89 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

ous  bombardment  sounded  like  a  giant 
drum  beating  an  incredibly  swift  rata- 
plan. Along  the  whole  length  of  our 
hill  this  curtain  of  shells  was  dropping, 
leveling  the  forest  and  seemingly  beat- 
ing off  the  very  face  of  the  hill  itself, 
clean  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  valley. 
Owing  to  the  proximity  of  our  troops 
to  the  enemy's  batteries  we  received 
hardly  any  support  from  our  own  big 
guns,  and  the  role  of  the  combatants 
was  entirely  reversed.  The  Germans 
had  their  innings  then  and  full  well 
they  worked. 

As  the  company  descended  into  the 
valley  the  pace  became  slower,  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  opposite  slope 
they  halted  and  faced  back.  Owing  to 
the  height  of  the  Butte  de  Souain,  they 
were  safe,  and  they  considered  that  it 
was  their  turn  to  act  as  spectators. 

OO 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

As  our  captain  rose  we  followed  and 
took  our  places  in  front  of  our  sections. 
Again  I  impressed  upon  the  minds  of 
my  men  the  importance  of  following  in 
a  straight  line  and  as  close  behind  one 
another  as  possible.  "  Arme  a  la  main  I" 
came  the  order,  and  slowly  we  moved 
to  the  crest  and  then  immediately 
broke  into  a  dog-trot.  Instantly  we 
were  enveloped  in  flames  and  smoke. 
Hell  kissed  us  welcome  1  Closely  I 
watched  the  captain  for  the  sign  to  in- 
crease our  speed.  I  could  have  run  a 
mile  in  record  time,  but  he  plugged 
steadily  along,  one,  two,  three,  four, 
one,  two,  three,  four,  at  a  tempo  of  a 
hundred  and  eighty  steps  per  minute, 
three  to  the  second,  —  the  regulation 
tempo.  Inwardly  I  cursed  his  insist- 
ence upon  having  things  reglementaires. 

As  I  looked  at  the  middle  of  his 
91 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

back,  longing  for  him  to  hurry,  I 
caught  sight,  on  my  right,  of  a  shell 
exploding  directly  in  the  center  of  the 
third  section.  Out  of  the  tail  of  my  eye 
I  saw  the  upper  part  of  Corporal  Ker- 
audy's  body  rise  slowly  into  the  air. 
The  legs  had  disappeared,  and  with 
arms  outstretched  the  trunk  sank 
down  upon  the  corpse  of  Varma,  the 
Hindu,  who  had  marched  behind  him. 
Instinctively,  I  almost  stopped  in  my 
tracks  —  Keraudy  was  a  friend  of  mine 
—  but  at  the  instant  Corporal  Met- 
tayer,  running  behind  me,  bumped  into 
my  back,  and  shoved  me  again  into 
life  and  action. 

We  were  out  of  the  woods  then,  and 
running  down  the  bare  slope  of  the  hill. 
A  puff  of  smoke,  red-hot,  smote  me  in 
the  face,  and  at  the  same  moment  in- 
tense pain  shot  up  my  jaw.   I  did  not 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

think  I  was  hit  seriously,  since  I  was 
able  to  run  all  right.  Some  one  in  the 
second  section  intoned  the  regimental 
march,  "Allons,  Giron."  Others  took 
it  up ;  and  there  in  that  scene  of  death 
and  hell,  this  song  portraying  the  lusts 
and  vices  of  the  Legion  Etrangere  be- 
came a  very  paean  of  enthusiasm  and 
courage. 

Glancing  to  the  right,  I  saw  that  we 
were  getting  too  close  to  the  second 
section,  so  I  gave  the  signal  for  a  left 
oblique.  We  bore  away  from  them  un- 
til once  again  at  our  thirty  paces'  dis- 
tance. All  at  once  my  feet  tangled  up 
in  something  and  I  almost  fell.  It  was 
long  grass  I  Just  then  it  seemed  to  grow 
upon  my  mind  that  we  were  down  in 
the  valley  and  out  of  range  of  the 
enemy.  Then  I  glanced  ahead,  and 
not  over  a  hundred  metres  away  I 
o3 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

saw  the  second  company  lying  in  the 
grass  and  watching  us  coming.  As  we 
neared,  they  shouted  Uttle  pleasantries 
at  us  and  congratulated  us  upon  our 
speed. 

*'Why  this  unseemly  haste?"  one 
wants  to  know. 

*'You  go  to  the  devil  I"  answers 
Haeffle. 

*'Merci,  mon  amil"  retorts  the  first; 
"I  have  just  come  through  his  back 
kitchen." 

Counting  my  section,  I  missed  Du- 
bois, Saint-Hilaire,  and  Schueli.  Col- 
lette,  Joe  told  me,  was  left  on  the  hill. 

The  company  had  lost  two  sergeants, 
one  corporal,  and  thirteen  men,  coming 
downthat  short  stretch!  We  mustered 
but  forty-five  men,  all  told.  One,  Ser- 
geant Terisien,  had  for  four  months 
commanded  my  section,  the"Ameri- 
o4 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

can  Section,"  but  was  transferred  to 
the  fourth  section.  From  where  we 
rested  we  could  see  him  slowly  de- 
scending the  hill,  bareheaded  and  with 
his  right  hand  clasping  his  left  shoul- 
der. He  had  been  severely  wounded  in 
the  head,  and  his  left  arm  was  nearly 
torn  off  at  the  shoulder.  Poor  devil  I 
He  was  a  good  comrade  and  a  good 
soldier.  Just  before  the  war  broke  out 
he  had  finished  his  third  enUstment  in 
the  Legion,  and  was  in  line  for  a  dis- 
charge and  pension  when  he  died. 

Looking  up  the  awful  slope  we  had 
just  descended,  we  could  see  the  bodies 
of  our  comrades,  torn  and  mangled  and 
again  and  again  kicked  up  into  the  air 
by  the  shells.  For  two  days  and  nights 
the  hellish  hail  continued  to  beat  upon 
that  blood-soaked  slope,  until  we  final- 
ly captured  the  Butte  de  Souain  and 

95 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

forced  an  entire  regiment  of  Saxons  to 
the  left  of  the  butte  to  capitulate. 

Again  we  assembled  in  column  of 
fours,  and  this  time  began  the  climb 
uphill.  Just  then  I  happened  to  think 
of  the  blow  I  had  received  under  the 
jaw,  and  feeling  of  the  spot,  discovered 
a  slight  wound  under  my  left  jaw-bone. 
Handing  my  rifle  to  a  man,  I  pressed 
shghtly  upon  the  sore  spot  and  pulled 
a  steel  sphnter  out  of  the  wound.  A 
very  thin,  long  sliver  of  steel  it  was, 
half  the  diameter  of  a  dime  and  not 
more  than  a  dime's  thickness,  but  an 
inch  and  a  half  long.  The  metal  was 
still  hot  to  the  touch.  The  scratch  con- 
tinued bleeding  freely,  and  I  did  not 
bandage  it  at  the  time  because  I  felt 
su  3  of  needing  my  emergency  dressing 
farther  along. 

Up  near  the  crest  of  the  hill  we 
96 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

halted  in  an  angle  of  the  woods  and  lay 
down  alongside  the  One  Hundred  and 
Seventy-second  Regiment  of  infantry. 
They  had  made  the  attack  in  this  di- 
rection on  the  twenty-fifth,  but  had 
been  severely  checked  at  this  point. 
Infantry  and  machine-gun  fire  sounded 
very  close,  and  lost  bullets  by  the  hun- 
dreds flicked  through  the  branches 
overhead.  The  One  Hundred  and  Sev- 
enty-second informed  us  that  a  bat- 
talion of  the  Premier  Etranger  had 
entered  the  forest  and  was  at  that 
moment  storming  a  position  to  our 
immediate  left.  Through  the  trees 
showed  lights,  brighter  than  day,  cast 
from  hundreds  of  German  magnesium 
candles  shot  into  the  air. 

Our  officers  were  grouped  with  those 
of  the  other  regiment,  and  after  a  very 
long  conference  they  separated,  each 

97 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

to  his  command.  Our  captain  called 
the  officers  and  subalterns  of  the  com- 
pany together,  and  in  terse  sentences 
explained  to  us  our  positions  and  the 
object  of  the  coming  assault.  It  was 
to  be  a  purely  local  affair,  it  seemed, 
and  the  point  was  the  clearing  of  the 
enemy  from  the  hill  we  were  on.  On  a 
map  drawn  to  scale  he  pointed  out 
the  lay  of  the  land. 

It  looked  to  me  like  a  hard  proposi- 
tion. Imagine  to  yourself  a  tooth- 
brush about  a  mile  long  and  three 
eighths  to  one  half  mile  wide.  The 
back  is  formed  by  the  summit  of  the 
hill,  densely  wooded,  and  the  bristles 
are  represented  by  four,  little  ridges 
rising  from  the  valley  we  had  just 
crossed,  each  one  crowned  with  strips 
of  forest  and  uniting  with  the  main 
ridges  at  right  angles.  Between  each 
98 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

two  lines  of  bristles  are  open  spaces, 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  metres  wide.  We  of  the  second 
regiment  were  to  deliver  the  assault 
parallel  with  the  bristles  and  stretching 
from  the  crest  down  to  the  valley. 

The  other  column  was  to  make  a 
demonstration  from  our  left,  running  a 
general  course  at  right  angles  to  ours. 
The  time  set  was  eight  o'clock  at  night. 

Returning  to  our  places,  we  informed 
the  men  of  what  they  were  in  for. 
While  we  were  talking  we  noticed  a 
group  of  men  come  from  the  edge  of 
the  woods  and  form  into  company  for- 
mation, and  we  could  hear  them  an- 
swer to  the  roll-call.  I  went  over  and 
peered  at  them.  On  their  coat-collars 
I  saw  the  gilt  "No.  i."  It  was  the 
Premier  Etranger. 

As  the  roll-call  proceeded,  I  won- 

09 


A    SOLDIER     OF    THE    LEGION 

dered.  The  sergeant  was  deciphering 
with  difficulty  the  names  from  his  ht- 
tle  carnet,  and  response  after  response 
was,  "Mort."  Once  in  a  while  the  an- 
swer changed  to,  "Mort  sur  le  champ 
d'honneur,"  or  a  brief  "Tombe." 
There  were  twenty-two  men  in  Hne,  not 
counting  the  sergeant  and  a  corporal, 
who  in  rear  of  the  line  supported  him- 
self precariously  on  two  rifles  which 
served  him  as  crutches.  Two  more 
groups  appeared  back  of  this  one,  and 
the  same  proceeding  was  repeated.  As 
I  stood  near  the  second  group  I  could 
just  catch  the  responses  of  the  surviv- 
ors. "Duvivier":  "Present." —  "Se- 
lonti":  "Present."  —  "Boismort": 
"Tombe."  —  "Herkis":  "Mort."  — 
"Carney":  "Mort."  —  "MacDon- 
ald  "  :  "  Present."  —  "  Farnsworth  "  : 
"Mort  sur  le  champ  d'honneur,"  re- 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

sponded  MacDonald.  Several  of  the 
men  I  had  known,  Farnsworth  among 
them.  One  officer,  a  second-heutenant, 
commanded  the  remains  of  the  battal- 
ion. Seven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  he 
informed  me,  had  gone  in  an  hour  ago, 
and  less  than  two  hundred  came  back. 

*' Ah,  mon  ami,"  he  told  me,  "c'est 
bien  chaud  dans  le  bois." 

Quietly  they  turned  into  column  of 
fours  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 
Their  attack  had  failed.  Owing  to  the 
protection  afforded  by  the  trees,  our 
aerial  scouts  had  failed  to  gather  defi- 
nite information  of  the  defenses  con- 
structed in  the  forest,  and  owing  also 
to  the  same  cause,  our  previous  bom- 
bardment had  been  ineffective. 

It  was  our  job  to  remedy  this.  One 
battalion  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Sev- 
enty-second was  detached  and  placed 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

in  line  with  us,  and  at  8  p.m.  sharp 
the  commandant's  whistle  sounded, 
echoed  by  that  of  our  captain. 

Quietly  we  hned  up  at  the  edge  of 
the  forest,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  bayo- 
nets fixed.  Quietly  each  corporal  exam- 
ined the  rifles  of  his  men,  inspected  the 
magazines,  and  saw  that  each  chamber 
also  held  a  cartridge  with  firing-pin 
down.  As  silently  as  possible  we  en- 
tered between  the  trees  and  carefully 
kept  in  touch  with  each  other.  It  was 
dark  in  there,  and  we  had  moved  along 
some  little  distance  before  our  eyes 
were  used  to  the  blackness.  As  I  picked 
my  steps  I  prepared  myself  for  the 
shock  every  man  experiences  at  the 
first  sound  of  a  volley.  Twice  I  fell 
down  into  shell-holes  and  cursed  my 
clumsiness  and  that  of  some  other  fel- 
lows to  my  right.  "  The  '  Dutch '  must 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

be  asleep,"  I  thought,  "or  else  they 
beat  it."  Hopefully,  the  latter  1 

We  were  approaching  the  farther 
edge  of  the  "toothbrush  bristles,"  and 
breathlessly  we  halted  at  the  edge  of 
the  Uttle  open  space  before  us.  About 
eighty  metres  across  loomed  the  black 
line  of  another  "row  of  bristles."  I 
wondered. 

The  captain  and  second  section  to 
our  right  moved  on  and  we  kept  in  hne, 
still  slowly  and  cautiously,  carefully 
putting  one  foot  before  the  other.  Sud- 
denly from  the  darkness  in  front  of  us 
came  four  or  five  heavy  reports  like  the 
noise  of  a  shotgun,  followed  by  a  long 
hiss.  Into  the  air  streamed  trails  of 
sparks.  Above  our  heads  the  hiss 
ended  with  a  sharp  crack,  and  every- 
thing stood  revealed  as  though  it  were 
broad  daylight. 

I  o3 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

At  the  first  crash,  the  major,  the  cap- 
tains —  everybody,  it  seemed  to  me  — 
yelled  at  the  same  time,  "En  avanti 
Pas  de  charge!"  —  and  in  full  run, 
with  fixed  bayonets,  we  flew  across  the 
meadow.  As  we  neared  the  woods  we 
were  met  by  sohd  sheets  of  steel  balls. 
Roar  upon  roar  came  from  the  forest; 
the  volleys  came  too  fast,  it  shot  into 
my  mind,  to  be  well  aimed.  Then 
something  hit  me  on  the  chest  and  I 
fell  sprawhng.  Barbed  wire!  Every- 
body seemed  to  be  on  the  ground  at 
once,  crawHng,  pushing,  struggling 
tlu-ough.  My  rifle  was  lost  and  I 
grasped  my  parabelliim.  It  was  a 
German  weapon,  German  charges, 
German  cartridges.  This  time  the  Ger- 
mans were  to  get  a  taste  of  their  own 
medicine,  I  thought.  Lying  on  my 
back,  I  wormed  through  the  wire, 
I  o4 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

butting  into  the  men  in  front  of  me 
and  getting  kicked  in  the  head  by 
Mettayer.  As  I  crawled  I  could  hear 
the  ping,  ping,  of  balls  striking  the 
wire,  and  the  shrill  moan  as  they 
glanced  off  and  continued  on  their 
flight. 

Putting  out  my  hand,  I  felt  loose  dirt, 
and,  lying  flat,  peered  over  the  par- 
apet. *'  Nobody  home,"  I  thought;  and 
then  I  saw  one  of  the  Collette  brothers 
in  the  trench  come  running  toward  me 
and  ahead  of  him  a  burly  Boche.  I 
saw  Joe  make  a  one-handed  lunge  with 
the  rifle,  and  saw  the  bayonet  show 
fully  a  foot  in  front  of  the  German's 
chest. 

Re-forming,  we  advanced  toward  the 
farther  fringe  of  the  little  forest.  Half- 
way through  the  trees  we  lay  down  flat 
on  our  stomachs,  rifle  in  right  hand, 

I  o5 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and  slowly,  very  slowly,  wormed  our 
way  past  the  trees  into  the  opening  be- 
tween us  and  our  goal.  Every  man  had 
left  his  knapsack  in  front  or  else  hang- 
ing on  the  barbed  wire,  and  we  were  in 
good  shape  for  the  work  that  lay  ahead. 
But  the  sections  and  companies  were 
inextricably  mixed.  On  one  side  of  me 
crawled  a  lieutenant  of  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Seventy-second,  and  on  the 
other  a  private  I  had  never  seen  before. 
Still  we  were  all  in  hne,  and  when 
some  one  shouted,  "Feu  de  quatre  car- 
touches!" we  fired  four  rounds,  and 
after  the  command  all  crawled  again  a 
few  paces  nearer. 

Several  times  we  halted  to  fire,  aim- 
ing at  the  sheets  of  flame  spurting  to- 
ward us.  Over  the  Germans  floated 
several  parachute  magnesium  rockets, 
sent  up  by  our  own  men,  giving  a  vivid 

io6 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE     LEGION 

light  and  enabling  us  to  shoot  with  fair 
accuracy.  I  think  now  that  the  Ger- 
man fke  was  too  high.  Anyway,  I  did 
not  notice  any  one  in  my  immediate 
vicinity  getting  hit.  Though  our  prog- 
ress was  slow,  we  finally  arrived  at  the 
main  wire  entanglement. 

All  corporals  in  the  French  army 
carry  wire-nippers,  and  it  was  our  cor- 
poral's business  to  open  a  way  through 
the  entanglement.  Several  men  to  my 
right,  I  could  see  one,  —  he  looked  like 
Mettayer,  —  lying  flat  on  his  back  and, 
nippers  in  hand,  snipping  away  at  the 
wire  overhead,  while  all  of  us  behind 
kept  up  a  murderous  and  constant  fire 
at  the  enemy.  Mingled  with  the  roar 
of  the  rifles  came  the  stuttering  rattle 
of  the  machine  guns,  at  moments 
drowned  by  the  crash  of  hand-gre- 
nades. Our  grenadiers  had  rather  poor 
107 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

success  with  their  missiles,  however, 
most  of  them  hitting  trees  in  front  of 
the  trench.  The  Heutenant  on  my  left 
had  four  grenades.  I  could  see  him 
plainly.  With  one  in  his  hand,  he 
crawled  close  to  the  wire,  rolled  on  his 
back,  rested  an  instant  with  arms  ex- 
tended, both  hands  grasping  the  gre- 
nade, then  suddenly  he  doubled  for- 
ward and  back  and  sent  the  bomb 
flying  over  his  head.  For  two  —  three 
seconds, — it  seemed  longer  at  the  time, 
—  we  listened,  and  then  came  the  roar 
of  the  explosion.  He  smiled  and  nodded 
to  me,  and  again  went  through  the 
same  manoeuvre. 

In  the  mean  time  I  kept  my  parabel- 
lum  going.  I  had  nine  magazines 
loaded  with  dum-dum  balls  I  had  taken 
from  some  dead  Germans,  and  I  dis- 
tributed the  balls  impartially  between 

io8 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

three  creneaux  in  front  of  me.  On  my 
right,  men  were  surging  tlirough  several 
breaks  in  the  wire.  Swiftly  I  rolled 
over  and  over  toward  the  free  lane  and 
went  tlirough  with  a  rush.  The  com- 
bat had  degenerated  into  a  hand-gre- 
nade affair.  Our  grenadiers  crawled 
alongside  the  parapet  and  every  so 
often  tossed  one  of  their  missiles  into 
it,  while  the  others,  shooting  over  their 
heads,  potted  the  Germans  as  they  ran 
to  rear. 

Suddenly  the  fusillade  ceased,  and 
with  a  crash,  it  seemed,  silence  and 
darkness  descended  upon  us.  The  sud- 
den cessation  of  the  terrific  rifle  firing 
and  of  the  constant  rattling  of  the 
machine  guns  struck  one  Hke  a  blow. 
Sergeant  Altoffer  brought  me  some  in- 
formation about  one  of  my  men,  and 
almost  angrily,  I  asked  him  not  to 

loo 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

shoutl  "I'm  not  deaf  yet,"  I  assured 
liim.  "Men  vieux,"  he  raged,  "it's 
you  who  are  shouting!" 

I  reahzed  my  fault  and  apologized 
and  in  return  accepted  a  drink  of  wine 
from  his  canteen. 

Finding  the  captain,  we  received  the 
order  to  assemble  the  men  and  main- 
tain the  trench,  and  after  much  search- 
ing I  found  a  few  men  of  the  section. 
The  little  scrap  had  cost  the  first  sec- 
tion three  more  men.  Soubiron,  Dowd, 
and  Zinn  were  wounded  and  sent  to  the 
rear.  The  One  Hundred  and  Seventy- 
second  sent  a  patrol  toward  the  far- 
thest, the  last,  bristle  of  the  toothbrush, 
with  the  order  to  reconnoiter  thor- 
oughly. An  hour  passed  and  they  had 
not  returned.  Twenty  minutes  more 
went  by  and  still  no  patrol.  Rather 
curious,  we  thought.  No  rifle-shots  had 

no 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

come  from  that  direction  nor  any  noise 
such  as  would  be  heard  during  a  com- 
bat with  the  bayonet.  The  command- 
ant's patience  gave  way  and  our  cap- 
tain received  the  order  to  send  another 
patrol.  He  picked  me  and  I  chose  King, 
Delpeuch,  and  Birchler.  All  three  had 
automatics,  King  a  parabellum,  Del- 
peuch and  Birchler,  Brownings.  They 
left  their  rifles,  bayonets,  and  cartridge- 
boxes  behind  and  in  Indian  file  fol- 
lowed me  at  a  full  run  in  an  oblique 
direction  past  the  front  of  the  company 
and,  when  halfway  across  the  clearing, 
following  my  example,  fell  flat  on  the 
ground.  We  rested  awhile  to  regain 
our  wind  and  then  began  to  shde  on 
our  stomachs  at  right  angles  to  our  first 
course. 

We  were  extremely  careful  to  re- 
main silent.   Every  little  branch  and 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

twig  we  moved  carefully  out  of  our 
way;  with  one  hand  extended  we  felt 
of  the  ground  before  us  as  we  hitched 
ourselves  along.  So  silent  was  our  prog- 
ress that  several  times  I  felt  in  doubt 
about  any  one  being  behind  me  and 
rested  motionless  until  I  felt  the  touch 
of  Delpeuch'shand  upon  my  foot.  After 
what  seemed  twenty  minutes,  we  again 
changed  direction,  this  time  straight 
toward  the  trees  looming  close  to  us. 
We  arrived  abreast  of  the  first  row  of 
trees,  and,  lying  still  as  death,  listened 
for  sounds  of  the  enemy.  All  was  abso- 
lutely quiet;  only  the  branches  rustled 
overhead  in  a  fight  breeze.  A  long  time 
we  lay  there  but  heard  no  sound.  We 
began  to  feel  somewhat  creepy,  and  I 
was  tempted  to  puU  my  pistol  and  let 
nine  shots  rip  into  the  damnable  stiU- 
ness  before  us.   However,  I  refrained, 

1 1  a 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and,  touching  my  neighbor,  started 
crawhng  along  the  edge  of  the  wood. 
Extreme  care  was  necessary,  owing  to 
the  numberless  branches  littering  the 
ground.  The  sweat  was  rolling  down 
my  face. 

Again  we  Hstened,  and  again  we  were 
baffled  by  that  silence.  I  was  angry 
then  and  started  to  crawl  between  the 
trees.  A  tiny  sound  of  metal  scratch- 
ing upon  metal  and  I  almost  sank  into 
the  ground!  Quickly  I  felt  reassured. 
It  was  my  helmet  touching  a  strand  of 
barbed  wire.  Still  no  sound  I 

Boldly  we  rose  and,  standing  behind 
trees,  scanned  the  darkness.  Over  to 
our  right  we  saw  a  glimmer  of  light, 
and,  walking  this  time,  putting  one 
foot  carefully  before  the  other,  we 
moved  in  that  direction.  When  op- 
posite we  halted  and  —  I  swore.  From 

zi3 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  supposed  trench  of  the  enemy 
came  the  hoarse  sound  of  an  appar- 
ently drunken  man  singing  the  chan- 
son''La.  Riviera."  Another  voice  of- 
fered a  toast  to  "La  Legion." 

Carelessly  we  made  our  way  through 
the  barbed  wire,  crawling  under  and 
stepping  over  the  strands,  jumped 
over  a  ditch  and  looked  down  into 
what  seemed  to  be  an  underground  pal- 
ace. There  they  were  —  the  six  men  of 
the  One  Hundred  and  Seventy-second 
—  three  of  them  lying  stiff  and  stark 
on  benches,  utterly  drunk.  Two  were 
standing  up  disputing,  and  the  singer 
sat  in  an  armchair,  holding  a  long- 
stemmed  glass  in  his  hand.  Close  by 
him  were  several  unopened  bottles  of 
champagne  upon  the  table.  Many 
empty  bottles  littered  the  floor.  The 
singer  welcomed  us  with  a  shout  and 
ii4 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

an  Open  hand,  to  which  we,  however, 
did  not  immediately  respond.  The 
heartbreaking  work  while  approaching 
this  place  rankled  in  our  mind.  The 
sergeant  and  corporal  were  too  drunk 
to  be  of  any  help,  while  two  of  the  men 
were  crying,  locked  in  each  others' 
arms.  Another  was  asleep,  and  our 
friend  the  singer  absolutely  refused  to 
budge.  So,  after  I  had  stowed  two  bot- 
tles inside  my  shirt  (an  example  punc- 
tiliously followed  by  the  others),  we 
returned. 

Leaving  Birchler  at  the  wire,  I 
placed  King  in  the  middle  of  the  clear- 
ing and  Delpeuch  near  the  edge  of  the 
wood  held  by  us,  and  then  reported. 
The  captain  passed  the  word  along  to 
the  major,  and  on  the  instant  we  were 
ordered  to  fall  in,  and  in  column  of 
two  marched  over  to  the  abandoned 

ii  I  5 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

trench,  following  the  line  marked  by 
my  men. 

As  we  entered  and  disposed  our- 
selves therein,  I  noticed  all  the  officers, 
one  after  the  other,  disappear  in  the 
palace.  Another  patrol  was  sent  out 
by  our  company,  and,  after  ranging  the 
country  in  our  front,  it  returned  safely. 
That  night  it  happened  to  be  the  sec- 
ond company's  turn  to  mount  outposts, 
and  we  could  see  six  groups  of  men,  one 
corporal  and  five  men  in  each,  march 
out  into  the  night,  and  somewhere, 
each  in  some  favorable  spot,  they 
placed  themselves  at  a  distance  of 
about  one  hundred  metres  away,  to 
watch,  while  we  slept  the  sleep  of  the 
just. 


VIII 

Day  came,  and  with  it  the  corvee 
carrying  hot  coffee  and  bread.  After 
breakfast  another  corvee  was  sent  after 
picks  and  shovels,  and  the  men  were 
set  to  work  remodehng  the  trench, 
shifting  the  parapet  to  the  other  side, 
building  httle  outpost  trenches  and 
setting  barbed  wire.  The  latter  job 
was  done  in  a  wonderfully  short  time, 
thanks  to  German  thoroughness,  since 
for  the  stakes  to  which  the  wire  is  tied 
the  Bodies  had  substituted  soft  iron 
rods,  three  quarters  of  an  inch  thick, 
twisted  five  times  in  the  shape  of  a 
great  corkscrew.  This  screw  twisted 
into  the  ground  exactly  hke  a  cork- 
puller  into  a  cork.  The  straight  part  of 
117 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

the  rod,  being  twisted  upon  itself  down 
and  up  again  every  ten  inches,  formed 
six  or  seven  small  round  loops  in  a 
height  of  about  five  feet.  Into  these 
eyes  the  barbed  wire  was  laid  and  sol- 
idly secured  with  short  lengths  of  ty- 
ing wire.  First  cutting  the  tying  wire, 
we  lifted  the  barbed  wire  out  of  the 
eyes,  shoved  a  small  stick  through  one 
and,  turning  the  rod  with  the  leverage 
of  the  stick,  unscrewed  it  out  of  the 
ground  and  then  reversing  the  process 
screwed  it  in  again.  The  advantage  of 
this  rod  is  obvious.  When  a  shell  falls 
amidst  this  wire  protection,  the  rods 
are  bent  and  twisted,  but  unless  broken 
off  short  they  always  support  the  wire, 
and  even  after  a  severe  bombardment 
present  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  as- 
saulters. In  such  cases  wooden  posts 
are  blown  to  smithereens  by  the  shells, 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

and  when  broken  off  let  the  wire  fall 
flat  to  the  ground. 

As  I  was  walking  up  and  down, 
watching  the  work,  I  noticed  a  large 
box,  resting  bottom  up,  in  a  deep  hole 
opening  from  the  trench.  Dragging  the 
box  out  and  turning  it  over,  I  experi- 
enced a  sudden  flutter  of  the  heart. 
There,  before  my  astonished  eyes,  rest- 
ing upon  a  little  platform  of  boards, 
stood  a  neat  little  centrifugal  pump 
painted  green  and  on  the  base  of  it  in 
raised  iron  letters  I  read  the  words 
*' Byron  Jackson,  San  Francisco."  I 
felt  queer  at  the  stomach  for  an  in- 
stant. San  Francisco!  my  home  town! 
Before  my  eyes  passed  pictures  of  Mar- 
ket Street  and  the  "Park."  In  fancy  I 
was  one  of  the  Sunday  crowd  at  the 
Chff  House.  How  could  this  pump 
have  got  so  far  from  home?  Many 
119 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

times  I  had  passed  the  very  place  where 
it  was  made.  How,  I  wonder,  did  the 
Boche  get  this  pmnp?  Before  the  war 
or  through  Holland?  A  California- 
built  pump  to  clean  water  out  of  Ger- 
man trenches,  in  France  I  It  was  aston- 
ishing! With  sometliing  like  reverence 
I  put  the  pump  back  again  and,  going 
to  my  place  in  the  trench,  dug  out  one 
of  my  bottles  of  champagne  and  stood 
treat  to  the  crowd.  Somehow,  I  felt 
almost  happy. 

As  I  continued  my  rounds  I  came 
upon  a  man  sitting  on  the  edge  of  the 
ditch  surrounded  by  naked  branches, 
busy  cutting  them  into  two-foot 
lengths  and  tying  them  together  in  the 
shape  of  a  "cross."  I  asked  him  how 
many  he  was  making,  and  he  told  me 
that  he  expected  to  work  all  day  to 
supply  the  crosses  needed  along  one 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

battalion  front.  French  and  German 
were  treated  alike,  he  assured  me. 
There  was  absolutely  no  difference  in 
the  size  of  the  crosses. 

As  we  worked,  soup  arrived,  and 
when  that  was  disposed  of,  the  men 
rested  for  some  hours.  We  were  abso- 
lutely unmolested  except  by  our  offi- 
cers. 

But  at  one  o'clock  that  night  we 
were  again  assembled  in  marching  rig, 
each  man  carrying  an  extra  pick  or 
shovel,  and  we  marched  along  parallel 
with  our  trench  to  the  summit  of  the 
butte.  There  we  installed  ourselves  in 
the  main  Hue  out  of  wliich  the  Ger- 
mans were  driven  by  the  One  Hundred 
and  Seventy-second.  Things  came 
easy  now.  There  was  no  work  of  any 
kind  to  be  done,  and  quickly  we  found 
some  dry  wood,  built  small  fires  and 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

with  the  material  found  in  dugouts 
brewed  some  really  dehghtful  bever- 
ages. Mine  was  a  mixture  of  wine  and 
water  out  of  Haeffle's  canteen,  judi- 
ciously blended  with  chocolate. 

The  weather  was  delightful  and  we 
spent  the  afternoon  lying  in  sunny 
spots,  shifting  once  in  a  while  out  of 
the  encroaching  shade  into  the  warm 
rays.  We  had  no  idea  where  the  Ger- 
mans were,  —  somewhere  in  front,  of 
course,  but  just  how  far  or  how  near 
mattered  little  to  us.  Anyway,  the 
One  Hundred  and  Seventy-second 
were  fully  forty  metres  nearer  to  them 
than  we  were,  and  we  could  see  and 
hear  the  first-line  troops  picking  and 
shoveUng  their  way  into  the  ground. 

Little  King  was,  as  usual,  making 
the  round  of  the  company,  trying  to 
find  some  one  to  build  a  fire  and  get 

122 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE     LEGION 

water  if  he,  King,  would  furnish  the 
chocolate.  He  found  no  takers  and 
soon  he  laid  himself  down,  muttering 
about  the  laziness  of  the  outfit. 

Just  as  we  were  dozing  deliciously, 
an  agonized  yell  brought  every  sol- 
dier to  his  feet.  Rushing  toward  the 
cry,  I  found  a  man  sitting  on  the 
ground,  holding  his  leg  below  the  knee 
with  both  hands  and  moaning  as  he 
rocked  back  and  forth.  "  Je  suis  blesse ! 
Je  suis  blesse!"  Brushing  his  hands 
aside  I  examined  his  limb.  There  was 
no  blood.  I  took  off  the  leg-band,  rolled 
up  his  trousers,  and  discovered  no  sign 
of  a  wound.  I  asked  the  man  again 
where  the  wound  was,  and  he  passed 
his  hand  over  a  small  red  spot  on  his 
shin.  Just  then  another  man  picked 
up  a  small  piece  of  shell,  and  then  the 
explanation  dawned  upon  me.    The 

123 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE     LEGION 

Germans  were  shooting  at  our  planes 
straight  above  us;  a  bit  of  shell  had 
come  down  and  hit  our  sleeper  on  the 
shin-bone.  Amid  a  gale  of  laughter  he 
limped  away  to  a  more  sympathetic 
audience.  Several  more  pieces  of  iron 
fell  near  us.  Some  fragments  were  no 
joking  matter,  being  the  entire  rear  end 
of  three-inch  shells  weighing,  I  should 
think,  fully  seven  pounds. 

At  4  P-M.  the  soup  corvee  arrived. 
Besides  the  usual  soup  we  had  roast 
mutton,  one  small  slice  per  man,  and  a 
mixture  of  white  beans,  rice,  and  string 
beans.  There  was  coffee,  and  one  cup 
of  wine  per  man,  and,  best  of  all,  to- 
bacco. As  we  munched  our  food  our 
attention  was  attracted  to  the  sky 
above  by  an  intense  cannonade  direct- 
ed against  several  of  our  aeroplanes 
sailing  east.  As  we  looked,  more  and 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE     LEGION 

more  of  our  war-birds  appeared.  Whip- 
ping out  my  glasses,  I  counted  fifty-two 
machines.  Another  man  counted  sixty. 
Haeflle  had  it  a  hundred.  The  official 
report  next  day  stated  fifty-nine.  They 
were  flying  very  high  and  in  very  open 
formation,  winging  due  east.  The 
shells  were  breaking  ahead  of  them  and 
between  them.  The  heaven  was  stud- 
ded with  hundreds  upon  hundreds  of 
beautiful  little  round  grayish  clouds, 
each  one  the  nimbus  of  a  bursting  shell. 
With  my  prismatics  glued  to  my  eyes 
I  watched  closely  for  one  falling  bird. 
Though  it  seemed  incredible  at  the 
moment,  not  one  faltered  or  turned 
back.  Due  east  they  steered,  into  the 
red  painted  sky.  For  several  minutes 
after  they  had  sailed  out  of  my  sight  I 
could  still  hear  the  roar  of  the  guns. 
Only  one  machine,  the  official  report 

I  a  5 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

said,  was  shot  down,  and  that  one  fell 
on  the  return  trip. 

Just  before  night  fell,  we  all  set  to 
work  cutting  pine  branches,  and  with 
the  tips  prepared  soft  beds  for  our- 
selves. Sentries  were  placed,  one  man 
per  section,  and  we  laid  ourselves  down 
to  sleep.  The  night  passed  quietly; 
again  the  day  started  with  the  usual 
hot  coffee  and  bread.  Soup  and  stew 
at  10  A.M.,  and  the  same  again  at  4  p.m. 
One  more  quiet  night  and  again  the 
following  day.  We  were  becoming 
somewhat  restless  with  the  monotony 
but  were  cheered  by  the  captain.  That 
night,  he  told  us,  we  should  return  to 
Suippes  and  there  we  should  re-form 
the  regiment  and  rest.  The  programme 
sounded  good,  but  I  felt  very  doubtful, 
so  many  times  we  had  heard  the  same 
tale  and  so  many  times  we  had  been 

ia6 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE     LEGION 

disappointed.  Each  day  the  corvees 
had  brought  the  same  news  from  the 
kitchen.  At  least  twenty  times  differ- 
ent telephonists  and  agents  de  liaison 
had  brought  the  familiar  story.  The 
soup  corvees  assured  us  that  the  drivers 
of  the  rolling  kitchens  had  orders  to 
hitch  up  and  pull  out  toward  Souain 
and  Suippes.  The  telephonists  had  lis- 
tened to  the  order  transmitted  over 
the  wires.  The  agents  de  liaison  had 
overheard  the  commandant  telling 
other  officers  that  he  had  received 
marching  orders  and,  '' Ma  foil  each 
time  each  one  was  wrong!"  So  after 
all,  I  was  not  much  disappointed  when 
the  order  came  to  unmake  the  sacks. 

We  stayed  that  night  and  all  that 

day,  and  when  the  order  to  march  the 

following  evening  came,  all  of  us  were 

surprised,  including  the  captain.  I  was 

127 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE    LEGION 

with  the  One  Hundred  and  Seventy- 
second  at  the  time,  having  some  fun 
with  a  httle  Belgian.  I  had  come  upon 
him  in  the  dark  and  had  watched  him 
in  growing  wonder  at  liis  actions.  There 
the  little  fellow  was,  stamping  up  and 
down,  every  so  often  stopping,  shaking 
clenched  fists  in  the  air,  and  spouting 
curses.  I  asked  him  what  was  the  mat- 
ter. "Rien,  mon  sergent,"  he  replied. 
*'Je  m 'excite."  "Pourquoi?"  I  de- 
manded. "Ah,"  he  told  me,  "look," 
—  pointing  out  toward  the  German 
line,  — "out  there  lies  my  friend,  dead, 
with  three  pounds  of  my  chocolate  in 
his  musette,  and  when  I'm  good  and 
mad,  I'm  going  out  to  get  it!"  I 
hope  he  got  it  I 

That  night  at  seven  o'clock  we  left 
the  hill,  marched  through  Souain  four 
miles  to  Suippes  and  sixteen  miles  far- 
128 


A    SOLDIER    OF    THE     LEGION 

ther  on,  at  Saint-Hilaire,  we  camped. 
A  total  of  twenty-six  miles. 

At  Suippes  the  regiment  passed  in 
parade  march  before  some  officer  of  the 
Etat-Major,  and  we  were  counted :  — 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-two  in  the  en- 
tire regiment,  out  of  thirty-two  hun- 
dred who  entered  the  attack  on  the 
25th  of  September. 


THE   END 


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and  thrilling  narratives  of  the  war.    Illustrated,    $1.50  net. 


In  Italy 


With  the 
Austrians 


With  the 
Russians 


With  the 
Japanese 


On  the 
Ocean 


THE  WORLD  DECISION 

ROBERT  HERRICK 
Contains  a  graphic,  first-hand  account  of  Italy's  entrance  into 
the  war,  as  well  as  a  remarkable  analysis  of  the  larger  aspects 
of  the  struggle.    ^1.25  net. 

FOUR    WEEKS   IN    THE    TRENCHES 

FRITZ  KREISLER 
"  Filled  with  memorable  scenes  and  striking  descriptions.    It 
will  stand  as  a  picture  of  war." — New  York  Globe.  Illustrated. 
i5i.oo  net. 

{   DAY  BY  DAY  WITH  THE  RUSSIAN 
ARMY 

BERNARD  PAR£S 
"A  wonderful  narrative.    When  the  history  of  this  great  war 
comes  to  be  written   it  will  be  an  invaluable  document."  — 
London  Morning  Post.     Illustrated.     $2.50  net. 

THE    FALL   OF  TSINGTAU 

JEFFERSON  JONES 
A  remarkable  study  of  war  and  diplomacy  in  the  Orient  that 
"should  be  read  by  every  American  who  is  interested  in  the 
future  of  our  status  in  the  Far  East."  —  New  York  Tribune. 
Illustrated.     ^1.75  net. 

THE   LUSITANIA'S   LAST   VOYAGE 

C.  E.  LAURIAT,  Jr. 
"  Not  only  a  document  of  historic  interest,  but  a  thrilling  nar- 
rative of  the  greatest  disaster  of  its  kind."  —  The  Dial.  Illus- 
trated,    ^i.oo  net. 


Causes  and  Results  of  the  War 


THE  DIPLOMACY  OF  THE  WAR  OF 
1914 ;  The  Beginnings  of  the  War 
ELLERY  C.  STOWELL 
"  The  most  complete  statement  that  has  been  given."  —  Lord 
Bryce.  "  The  whole  tangled  web  of  diplomacy  is  made  crys- 
tal clear  in  this  really  statesmanlike  book." — New  York  Times. 
S  15.00  net. 


Diplomatic 


Financial 


PAN-GERMANISM 

ROLAND  G.  USHER 
The  war  has  borne  out  in  a  remarkable  way  the  accuracy  of 
this  analysis  of  the  game  of  world  politics  that  preceded  the 
resort  to  arms. 

THIRTY  YEARS 

SIR  THOMAS  BARCLAY 
The  story  of  the  forming  of  the  Entente  between  France  and 
England  told  by  the  man  largely  responsible  for  its  existence. 
1^3.50  net. 

THE  RULING  CASTE  AND  FRENZIED 
TRADE  IN  GERMANY 

MAURICE  MILLIOUD 
Shows  the  part  played  by  the  over-extension  of  German  trade 
in  bringing  on  the  war.     $1.00  net. 

THE   AUDACIOUS   WAR 

C.  W.  BARRON 
An  analysis  of  the  commercial  and  financial  aspects  of  the 
war  by  one  of  America's  keenest  business  men.     "  Not  only 
of  prime  importance  but  of  breathless  interest."  —  Philadel- 
phia Public  Ledger.    $1.00  net. 


A  merica  and  the  War 


THE  CHALLENGE  OF  THE  FUTURE 

ROLAND  G.  USHER 
"The  most  cogent  analysis  of  national  prospects  and  possibil- 
ities any  student  of  world  politics  has  yet  written."  —  Boston 
Herald.    $1.75  net. 


The 

Diplomatic 

Aspects 


The 

Military 

Aspects 


ARE   WE   READY? 

11.   D.   WHEELER 
A  sane  constructive  study  of  our  unpreparedness  for  war. 
"  You  have  performed  a  real  service  to  the  American  people." 
—  Henry  T.Stimsun,  Former  Secretary  of  War.    $1.50  net. 


The  Moral 
Aspects 


THE   ROAD   TOWARD   PEACE 

CHARLES  W.  ELIOT 
"  Few  writers  have  discussed  the  way  and  means  of  establish- 
ing  peace  and  friendly  relations  among  nations  with  more 
sanity  and  far-reaching  estimate  of  values."  —  Detroit  Free 
Press,    igi.oo  net. 

GERMANY  VERSUS   CIVILIZATION 

WILLIAM  ROSCOE  THAYER 
A  biting  indictment  of  Prussianism  and  an  analysis  of  the 
meaning  of  the  war  to  America.    $i.od  net. 

COUNTER-CURRENTS 

AGNES  REPPLIER 
Dealing  mainly  with  issues  arising  from  the  war,  these  essays 
will  take  their  place  among  the  most  brilliant  of  contempo- 
rary comment.     jS^i.25  net. 

Miscellaneous 


Fiction 


Poetry 


Biography 


THE   FIELD  OF  HONOUR 

H.  FIELDING-HALL 
Short  stories  dealing  with  the  spirit  of  England  at  war.  "Ad- 
mirably written  without  one  superfluous  word  to  mar  the  di- 
rectness of  their  appeal." — New  York  Times.    {^1.50  net. 

A   SONG   OF  THE   GUNS 

GILBERT  FRANKAU 
Vivid,  powerful  verse  written  to  the  roar  of  guns  on  the  west- 
ern front,  by  a  son  of  Frank  Danby,  the  novelist. 

KITCHENER,    ORGANIZER    OF 
VICTORY 

HAROLD  BEGBIE 
The  first  full  and  satisfactory  account  of  the  life  and  deeds  of 
England's  great  War  Minister.  Suppressed  in  England  for  its 
frankness.     Illustrated.     ;^i.25. 

IS  WAR   DIMINISHING? 

FREDERICK  ADAMS  WOOD,  M.D.,  AND 

ALEXANDER  BALTZLEY 

The  first  complete  and  authoritative  study  of  the  question  of 

whether  warfare  has  increased  or  diminished  in  the  last  five 

centuries.    $1.00  net. 


History 


HOUGHTON 

MIFFLIN 
COMPANY 


BOSTON 

AND 

NEW  YORK 


COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY   LIBRARIES 

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